September sales move towards a balanced market

Vancouver, B.C. Oct 3, 2006 -The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales for detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,519 units in September 2006, a decrease of 24.7 per cent compared to the 3,344 units sold in September 2005, and a 11.5 per cent decrease compared to the 2,845 sold during the same period in 2004.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased by 11.4 per cent to 5,115 units when compared to the 4,590 units listed in September 2005.

"We're moving towards a balanced market, a balance that brings greater stability to buyers and sellers throughout the Greater Vancouver area," says REBGV president Rick Valouche. "We're finally seeing an increase in inventory and that is great news for buyers in our active market.

"We're still selling far more properties monthly than we were four or five years ago," notes Valouche. "There's been a shortage of listings for some time. If listings continue to increase at this pace, we may be able to start meeting the strong demand for real estate that has been the driving characteristic of the Greater Vancouver market for the past five years."

According to Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) data, sales of apartment properties decreased by 18.4 per cent to 1,093 sales in September 2006 compared to 1,339 sales in September 2005. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is $334,482, up 21.6 per cent from one year ago.

Sales of attached properties decreased by 33.8 per cent in September 2006 to 392 sales, compared to 592 sales in September 2005. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $411,898, up 19.6 per cent from a year ago.

Sales of detached properties decreased by 26.8 per cent in September 2006 to 1,034 sales, compared to 1,413 sales in September 2006. The benchmark price of a detached unit is $659,269, up 18.2 per cent from last year.