Alphonse J. Quenneville

What we have going on right now in Greater Vancouver Real Estate in my opinion is not sustainable. When I look at reports like the one below from David A. Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff, it gets me scratching my head and wondering not if but when the consolidation will take place.

"According to MDA DataQuick, the number of homes sold in SoCal rose 0.2% MoM in September to 21,539 units and on a year-over-year basis, home sales are now up 5.1%. However, most of the sales were attributed to foreclosures, which accounted for 40% of the homes/condos sold in the area, and it was probably also boosted by those taking advantage of the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which expires at the end of November. As a result of these fire-sales, the median home and condo prices in Southern California fell 11% YoY in September, to $275,000. Overall, the state of the housing market in California remains clouded as the number of foreclosures that will hit the market are unknown at this point and what happens after the tax credit expires."

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VANCOUVER, B.C. - October 2, 2009

- Greater Vancouver home sales remained strong last month, with the second highest number of residential sales ever recorded for the month of September.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,559 in September 2009, an increase of 3.4 per cent from the 3,441 sales recorded in August 2009, and an increase of 124.5 per cent compared to September 2008 when 1,585 sales were recorded.

"As homes sales in Greater Vancouver continued at an elevated pace in September it's encouraging to see that more homes were listed on the MLS® in the month than any other so far this year," Scott Russell, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,764 in September 2009. This represents a 6.2 per cent decline compared to September 2008 when 6,142 new units were listed, but a 26.8 per cent increase compared to August 2009 when 4,544 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver. At 12,596, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 5.5 per cent in September compared to last month and declined 36 per cent from the 19,852 homes listed for sale during the buyer's market that was experienced at this time last year.

"During this period of renewed demand in our marketplace, home values have gradually recovered from the declines that occurred in 2008," said Russell. Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 13 per cent to $547,092 from $484,211, while home prices compared to Septembers 2008 levels are up 1.6 per cent. Sales of detached properties increased 160.6 per cent to 1,423 from the 546 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties increased 2.1 per cent from September 2008 to $741,632.

Sales of apartment properties in September 2009 increased 94.9 per cent to 1,489, compared to 764 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 1.5 per cent from September 2008 to $374,686. Attached property sales in September 2009 are up 135.3 per cent to 647, compared with the 275 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 0.4 per cent between Septembers 2008 and 2009 to $466,

VANCOUVER, B.C. – July 3, 2009 – The combination of low interest rates and more affordable pricing helped propel Greater Vancouver home sale numbers to the second all-time highest total for the month of June. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased 75.6 per cent in June 2009 to 4,259, from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2008. The figure is just short of the record-breaking 4,333 sales which occurred in June 2005. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.9 per cent to 5,372 in June 2009 compared to June 2008, when 6,546 new units were listed. However, new listings increased 13.5 per cent from May to June of this year. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,252, down 27 per cent from June 2008 and 2.9 per cent below the active listings count at the end of May 2009. “Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability, which is causing the number of sales to rise to levels comparable to 2003 to 2007,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said. “Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” Russell said. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.” Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, declined 8.2 per cent to $518,855 in June 2009 compared to June 2008. The number of sales of detached properties increased 81.6 per cent to 1,667 from the 918 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 8.4 per cent to $701,384 in June 2009 compared to June 2008. The number of sales of apartment properties in June 2009 increased 69.3 per cent to 1,790, compared to 1,057 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 8.2 per cent from June 2008 to $356,880. The number of attached property sales in June 2009 increased 78.2 per cent to 802, compared with the 450 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 7.3 per cent between June 2009 and 2008 to $441,620. Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2009 compared to June 2008: Detached: Burnaby up 109.7 per cent (151 units sold from 72) Coquitlam up 122.2 per cent (160 units sold from 72) Delta - South up 107.7 per cent (56 units sold from 27) Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 54.3 per cent (162 units sold from 105) New Westminster up 104.8 per cent (43 units sold from 21) North Vancouver up 96.2 per cent (153 units sold from 78) Port Moody/ Belcarra up 120 per cent (33 units sold from 15) Richmond up 77.4 per cent (204 units sold from 115) Squamish up 107.7 per cent (27 units sold from 13) Sunshine Coast up 33.9 per cent (75 units sold from 56) Vancouver East up 71.2 per cent (238 units sold from 139) Vancouver West up 85.2 per cent (200 units sold from 108) West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 117.8 per cent (98 units sold from 45) Attached: Burnaby up 81.8 per cent (140 units sold from 77) Coquitlam up 80 per cent (54 units sold from 30) Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 48.6 per cent (55 units sold from 37) North Vancouver up 121.2 per cent (73 units sold from 33) Port Coquitlam up 82.6 per cent (42 units sold from 23) Port Moody/ Belcarra up 77.3 per cent (39 units sold from 22) Richmond up 84.5 per cent (155 units sold from 84) Vancouver East up 118.5 per cent (59 units sold from 27) Vancouver West up 121.8 per cent (122 units sold from 55) Apartments: Burnaby up 60.4 per cent (239 units sold from 149) Coquitlam up 93.9 per cent (95 units sold from 49) New Westminster up 57.1 per cent (121 units sold from 77) North Vancouver up 71.4 per cent (120 units sold from 70) Port Coquitlam up 58.1 per cent (49 units sold from 31) Port Moody/Belcarra up 128.6 per cent (48 units sold from 21) Richmond up 54.1 per cent (225 units sold from 146) Vancouver East up 58.7 per cent (165 units sold from 104) Vancouver West up 87.2 per cent (627 units sold from 335) West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 155.6 per cent (23 units sold from 9) Download complete stats package by clicking here. The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2008, 24,626 homes changed hands in the Board's area generating $1.03 billion in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,400 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.rebgv.org. Note: The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI), established in 1995, is modeled on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the rate of price change for a basket of goods and services including food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Instead of measuring goods and services, the HPI measures the change in the price of housing features. Thus, the HPI measures typical, pure price change (inflation or deflation). The HPI benchmarks represent the price of a typical property within each market. The HPI takes into consideration what averages and medians do not – items such as lot size, age, number of rooms, etc. These features become the composite of the ‘typical house’ in a given area. Each month’s sales determine the current prices paid for bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc. and apply those new values to the ‘typical’ house model.

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Metro Vancouver Real Estate sales were down 44.6% from February 2008, but improved by 94.6% from last month, reaching the highest level in the past five months. Listings were down 25.6% from one year ago.

Detached Home prices in Metro Vancouver have fallen 14.2% from February 2008, to an average benchmark price of $653,452. Listings available for sale were down 24.1%. The number of detached homes sold in February was down 40.6% from one year ago, but up 102.1% from last month.

Townhouse prices in Metro Vancouver fell by 9.7% in the past twelve months, coming in at $426,268 in February 2009. The number of townhouses sold in February 2009 fell by 49.8%. Inventory levels fell by 15.2% this February over last.

Condominium prices were down 13.9% from one year ago. With prices averaging $333,143, February sales were down 45.7% from last February. The February inventory of condominiums available for sale declne 30.7% from one year ago.

Statistical source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

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West Vancouver detached home prices in February 2009 were up 5.6% from last month, reaching a benchmark price of $1,232,469. The number of units sold in February increased by 22.7% over January, but fell short of February 2008 sales by 51.8%. The number of homes available for sale on the Multiple Listing Services was down 33.6% this February over last.

Statistical source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver