WESTSIDE
THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016
DOWNTOWN
info@rew.ca • 604-435-7977
No. 1 Lender, $3.3 Billion Funded 2 Year Rate
2.14%
CHRIS ADKINS 604-617-4200
R E A L E S TAT E W E E K LY
#201 - 1537 West 8th Ave, Vancouver BC, V6J IT5 Email: cadkins@mortgagegroup.com Fax: 604-742-0119
Greater Vancouver Home Prices Up 30% in a Year: Board G reater Vancouver’s home sales in May were up 17.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, although slightly down compared with March and April, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported June 2. May’s residential real estate sales totalled 4,769, a rise of 17.3 per cent year over year, but 0.3 per cent lower than April when 4,781 units were sold across the region. That April figure was a drop of 7.6 cent compared with March 2016, when an all-time high of 5,173 homes were sold in Greater Vancouver. Broken down by property type, 1,865 single-family homes exchanged hands in May, which is a rise of 8.2 per cent from the 1,723 sales recorded in April 2015, but a 5.8 per cent drop compared with April’s 1,979 detached house sales. Unlike in April, townhouse and other
GO TO
REW.CA /NEWS TO READ THESE STORIES AND MUCH MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS AND ADVICE
attached home transactions also increased year over year in May, totalling 754 sales. This was a lift of 2.9 per cent over the 733 units in May 2015, and a jump of 9.9 per cent compared with April’s 695 townhome sales. Condo-apartment unit sales continued to see blistering annual increases, as 2,150 units exchanged hands in May 2016, a leap of 34.4 per cent compared with the 1,600 sales in May 2015. This was also a two per cent increase over April 2016’s figure or 2,107 sales. Property inventory expanded somewhat in May, with new listings for all home types in Metro Vancouver up 11.5 per cent to 6,289, compared with the 5,641 properties listed in May 2015. This was a rise of 2.6 per cent compared with the 6,127 new listings in April 2016. The improvement meant that total active listings as of the end of May were 7,726,
Vancouver Housing Market “Vulnerable” to a “Downturn”: Bank of Canada
up 2.3 per cent compared with April’s active listings, although the figure was still down 37.3 per cent year over year. “Home sellers are becoming more active in recent months, although that activity is being outpaced by home buyer demand today,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president.
Benchmark Prices The combined residential property type benchmark price in Metro Vancouver raised the bar again in May, at $889,100 – a year-over-year rise of 29.7 per cent. The region’s typical detached home is now priced at $1,513,800, a hike of 36.9 per cent compared with the same month last year, and yet again the sharpest price rise of all the home types. This was a rise of nearly 8 per cent since just the previous month. Again, these figures mask wide variation between areas, with Vancouver
Opinion: Proposal to Raise Minimum Down Payment is Nonsensical
West’s family homes selling for a typical $3.4 million, and prices going down to a typical $445,000 on the Sunshine Coast. Townhome or other attached unit benchmark prices in Greater Vancouver increased 24.9 per cent over May 2015 to $632,400, up 3.9 per cent compared with April. Condo-apartment benchmark prices rose 22.3 per cent from May 2015 to $485,000. This property type increased in price by 2.1 per cent compared with April. West Vancouver posted the highest condo prices in May at $851,800, with condos in Maple Ridge typically going for $187,100. Home prices vary widely throughout the REBGV region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location, check the detailed MLS® Home Price Index in the REBGV full May 2016 statistics package at www.rebgv.org
More Buyers Turning to Social Media for Mortgage Information: Survey