Vancouver home sales in September continued along the same path we saw in late this summer in July and August. We saw a slowing stream of listings come onto the market with healthy buyer activity, fuelled primarily by low interest rates. Although many people were reporting we were in a ‘buyer’s market’, the conditions we’re seeing seem to indicate that we’re in fact experiencing ‘balanced market’ conditions. This means that buyers can take their time to find the right place (compared to the rushed frenzy we saw last year) but should not expect to find rock bottom prices from desperate sellers. And sellers can expect that their property will sell within a reasonable amount of time if priced appropriately.

Compared to this time last year sales have dropped off significantly, however as I mentioned before it’s important to keep this in perspective and remember that last year we were experiencing some of the highest sales activity on record. 

Here are the stats for September 2010 according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SALES - DOWN 37% from last year
2,220 homes were sold in September 2010

• This represents a 1% increase compared with August 2010
• In comparison, this represents a 40% increase over the 1,585 residential sales in September 2008, a 20% decline compared to September 2007’s 2,776 sales, and an 11.9 per cent decline compared to September 2006’s 2,519 sales.

“We’ve seen fewer properties coming on to the market over the last three months. This trend, combined with the continued attraction of low interest rates, is likely having the effect of less downward pressure on home prices,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.

Total active property listings posted on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,401, basically unchanged compared to last month and a 22% increase from September 2009. Over the last three months, active listings in the region have declined 12%.

NEW LISTINGS - DOWN 18% from last year
4,731 properties were newly listed in September 2010

“We saw signs of more stability in our marketplace last month than we have seen since spring based on a variety of indicators that we look at each month,” Moldowan said. “At 56 days, it took, on average, three days less to sell a home in our region compared to August. This is the first month-over-month decline we’ve seen in this category since April.”

HOUSING PRICE INDEX - UP 7% from last year
Since spring, housing prices have decreased about 3% compared to the all-time high reached in April when the residential benchmark price was $593,419. Over the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 5.5% to $577,174 in September 2010 from $547,092 in September 2009. This price remains consistent to last month, rising just 0.1% from August.

• The benchmark price for detached properties increased 7% from September 2009 to $790,992.
• The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 4% from September 2009 to $388,373.
• The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 5% from September 2009 to $490,385.

SALES OF DETACHED PROPERTIES - DOWN 39% from last year
866 detached homes sold in September 2010. Although this is a significant decrease compared to last year, this represents a 59% increase compared to sales in September 2008 where 535 units were sold.

SALES OF APARTMENT PROPERTIES - DOWN 35% from last year
971 apartment properties sold in September 2010. This is a 27% increase compared to sales in September 2008.

SALES OF ATTACHED PROPERTIES - DOWN 40% from last year
There were a total of 383 attached property sales in September 2010. This marks a 39% increase from September 2008 sales.

Download the complete REBGV September 2010 Stats Package >>