Summer Market Trends Toward Balance

July 5, 2011 - Home sellers outpaced buyers on Greater Vancouver's Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) in June, drawing the market back toward balance this summer.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 3,262 in June, a 9.8% increase compared to the 2,972 sales in June 2010 and a 3.4% decline compared to the 3,377 sales in May 2011.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,793 in June. This represents a 4.5% increase compared to June 2010 when 5,544 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and a 2.3% decline compared to the 5,931 new listings reported in May 2011.

Last month's new listing total was 9.8% higher than the 10-year average for June, while residential sales were 7.3% below the ten-year average for sales in June.

"With sales below the 10-year average and home listings above what's typical for the month, activity in June brought closer alignment between supply and demand in our marketplace. With a sales-to-active-listings ratio of nearly 22%, it looks like we're in the upper end of a balanced market" - Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president.

At 15,106, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 3.1% in June compared to last month and declined 14% from this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.7% to $630,921 in June 2011 from $580,237 in June 2010.

"The largest price increases continue to be in the detached home market on the westside of Vancouver and in West Vancouver."

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