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Market Update

Homebuyers Benefit from Lower Prices

Vancouver, BC – December 12, 2008.

British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 67 per cent to $1.07 billion in November, compared to November 2007. Residential unit sales were down 62 per cent to 2,707 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $395,687, down 12.5 per cent from November 2007.

“The average sale price of a home in the province hit a 26-month low in November,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The irony of markets is that there’s no shortage of buyers when prices are near a peak and a scarcity of buyers when prices are near a trough.” Home prices were 8 per cent lower in November 2008 nine months after the peak than they were nine months prior to the peak.

“Today’s homebuyers are benefiting from a greater selection of homes for sale, more time to thoroughly investigate their choices and the ability to negotiate attractive prices,” added Muir.

Year-to-date MLS® residential sales dollar volume in the province declined 30 per cent to $30.3 billion compared to the same period last year. Provincial MLS® sales declined 32 per cent to 66,467 units, while the average residential price increased 4 per cent to $455,537 over the same period.

Market Review

Slow home sales create window of opportunity.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – December 2, 2008.

November reductions in home sales and prices have helped improve affordability in Greater Vancouver. However, November also saw a corresponding decrease in the number of new homes coming onto the market.

In its most recent statistics release, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver declined 69.7 per cent in November 2008 to 874 from the 2,883 sales recorded in November 2007.

Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, declined 12.8 per cent between May and November 2008, amounting to an 8.3 per cent year-to-date price reduction for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver between November 2007 and 2008. In May 2008, the overall residential benchmark price was $568,411, compared to $495,704 in November 2008.

“Times of turmoil, from which we always emerge, offer excellent opportunities to buy quality real estate,” says REBGV president, Dave Watt.“For those whose personal finances allow them to get involved, there are opportunities in today’s housing market that have not been seen in many years.

“The local real estate market is not immune to the current economic challenges globally; however, Canada’s disciplined lending structure has kept the mortgage landscape steady in these uncertain times.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 10.8 per cent to 3,012 in November 2008 compared to November 2007, when 3,377 new units were listed. Active listings in November declined 4.7 per cent to 18,348 from the 19,257 active listings in Greater Vancouver in October 2008.

Sales of detached properties in November 2008 declined 69.8 per cent to 322 from the 1,067 units sold during the same period in 2007. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 8.6 per cent from November 2007 to $666,525. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 13.6 per cent.

Sales of apartment properties declined 67.9 per cent last month to 410 compared to 1,276 sales in November 2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 8.6 per cent from November 2007 to $342,315. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an apartment property in Greater Vancouver has declined 12.2 per cent.

Attached property sales in November 2008 decreased 73.7 per cent to 142, compared with the 540 sales in November 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 6.4 per cent between November 2007 and 2008 to $426,287. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an attached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 11 per cent.