August Market Continues Brisk Summer Sales Pace!

Industry Insiders Are Using The “T” Word… As In Trend. 

 
Unit Sales Are Up. New Listings Are Down. Prices Are Up. Demand Remains Strong.

 
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports overall residential sales of Detached, Attached and Apartment properties reached 3,384 units in August 2007, a 12.9% increase over prior year, off 7.3% from the 3,649 units sold in August 2005.

New listings for all residential property types tightened up in August, down 2.0% to 4,408 units vs. the 4,500 units listed in August 2006.  The total number of active listings is flat at 10,721 units compared to August 2006 units of 10,635.

Message from the President
REBGV president Brian Naphtali states “Greater Vancouver’s residential housing market remained brisk this August, with consumer demand continuing to outpace supply, as it has done for much of the year. We’ve seen sales near record levels for three consecutive months, despite the summer traditionally being a slower time for real estate in Greater Vancouver. Although the average number of days a property stayed on the market increased to 41 days from 38 days in July, this slowdown clearly didn’t impact consumer demand.”

According to MLS data, sales of apartment properties increased by 16.1% to 1,504 units in August 2007 vs. prior year.  Benchmark price for an apartment in Greater Vancouver is now $367,944, up 11% from August 2006.

Sales of attached properties increased by 10.4% to 592 units vs. August 2006 with the benchmark price of an attached unit now $446,577, up 9.8% from last year month.

Sales of detached properties in August 2007 increased 10.4% to 1,288 units vs. August 2006 at 1,167 units.  Benchmark price for a detached home is now $726,067, up 11.1% from last year.

In Our Experience
Vancouver and the surrounding area continue to attract a broad cross-section of buyers.  No longer exclusively driven by local factors, prices continue to rise based on global influences as international buyers see value in real estate when compared to other cities around the world. Investors are drawn to Vancouver as well by the opportunities for development, and/or purchase of revenue generating property.

The market is underpinned by continued positive net in-migration, a strong provincial economy, growth in jobs and earnings, residential vacancy rates of less than 1%, and mortgage interest rates that remain near historical lows.

There is some concern that US “sub-prime” mortgage fears will spill over into Canada.  However the “sub-prime” or “alternative” mortgage market represents a significantly smaller portion of the overall Canadian mortgage market than it does south of the border.

Prevailing opinion from lenders is that the impact will come from a tightening of funds made available to buyers with un-proven sources of income or those with less than stellar credit history as investors shy away from further exposure to higher risk “sub-prime” type securities thereby reducing the amount of cash available to “alternative” lenders. This in turn will make it more difficult for this group of borrowers to access mortgage funds, and or result in higher borrowing costs reflecting the higher risk.

Canadian lenders continue to make mortgage funds available to conventional borrowers at historically low interest rates, and mortgage defaults remain at typically low levels.

On the Northshore, August 2007 experienced combined sales of 320 units, up 11.5% from August 2006. Year over year prices continue to rise across all property types.

West Vancouver / Howe Sound Market
Detached home sales of 63 units in August 2007 on par with August 2006.  YTD 2007 sales of 557 units are ahead of YTD 2006 sales of 531 units, up 4.9%.  YTD median price is up 8.7% at $1,380,000. Attached home sales of 7 units in August 2007 are ahead of both July 2007 sales of 4 units and August 2006 sales of 2 units.  YTD sales of 44 units are off 24.1% (14 units) from the same period last year.  YTD median price is up 25.6% at $1,020,000. Apartment home sales of 17 units in August 2007 are on par with 18 units sold in August 2006, with a YTD median price of $694,000 vs. $615,500 for the same period last year, an increase of 12.8%

North Vancouver Market
Detached home sales for August 2007 were 87 units, an increase of 10.1% from August 2006. YTD unit sales are off 1.9% (16 units) at 844 units sold. YTD Median price is up 9.8% at $799,900. Attached home sales of 41 units for August 2007 are on par with August 2006. YTD sales of 324 units are up 7.3% or 22 units from the same period last year. YTD Median price is up 13.1% over prior year at $560,000.  Apartment home sales of 105 units for August 2007 are up 21 units from August 2006.  YTD sales of 807 units are up 12.9% over same period last year with median price up 12.8% at $335,000.

Sea To Sky Corridor Details

Howe Sound
YTD Detached 2007 - 3 sales (all waterfront), average price $1,711,400 or $490/sf
YTD Detached 2006 - 3 sales, average price $1,437,000 or $557/sf
YTD Attached 2007 - 4 sales, average price $935,000 or $344/sf
YTD Attached 2006 - 8 sales, average price $866,798 or $356/sf
 
Lions Bay
YTD Detached 2007 – 20 sales, average price $1,028,000 or $364/sf
YTD Detached 2006 – 12 sales, average price $1,018,317 or $409/sf
YTD Attached 2007 – 1 sale, at $389,000 or $338/sf
YTD Attached 2006 – no sales
 
Furry Creek
YTD Detached 2007 - 5 sales, average price $1,095,940 or $408/sf (3 ParkLane Homes)
YTD Detached 2006 – 5 sales, average price $979,000 or $336/sf
YTD Attached 2007 – 2 sales, average price $1,132,450 or $328/sf (1 waterfront 3,800sf)
YTD Attached 2006 – 4 sales, average price $849,750 or $317/sf
 
Britannia Beach
YTD Detached 2007 - 2 sales average price $461,000 or $372/sf
YTD Detached 2006 - 4 sales average price $275,625 or $263/sf

If you or someone you know are thinking of buying or selling please give us a call.  We’re glad to help with your personal real estate needs.

Anita Schmitt, Realtor – Royal LePage Northshore  Cell 604.787.1456
Tom Davis, Realtor – Royal LePage Northshore  Cell 604.315.0172
 

This communication is not intended to cause or induce breach of an existing agency agreement.
 

Source of data – MLS Stats September 5, 2007