Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Maria Mak. Burnaby Real Estate - steady trends continue in theGreaterVancouver housing market


Steady trends continue in the Greater Vancouver housing market


The first month of 2014 saw home sale and listing totals outpace historical averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market. 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,760 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2014. This represents a 30.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,351 sales recorded in January 2013, and a 9.9 per cent decline compared to the 1,953 sales in December 2013. 

Last month’s sales were 7.2 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

“The Greater Vancouver housing market has been in a balanced market for nearly a year. This has meant steady home sale and listing activity accompanied by stable home prices,” Sandra Wyant, REBGV president said. 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,345 in January. This represents a 4.2 per cent increase compared to the 5,128 new listings reported in January 2013. 

Last month’s new listing count was 17.7 per cent higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® is 12,602, a 4.9 per cent decline compared to January 2013 and a nine per cent increase compared to December 2013. 

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $606,800. This represents a 3.2 per cent increase compared to January 2013. 

With the sales-to-active-listings ratio at 14 per cent, the region remains in balanced market territory.

“If you’re looking to sell your home in a balanced market, it’s critical that your list price is reflective of current market conditions,” Wyant said. 

Sales of detached properties in January 2014 reached 728, an increase of 34.3 per cent from the 542 detached sales recorded in January 2013, and a 10.5 per cent increase from the 659 units sold in January 2012. The benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver increased 3.2 per cent from January 2013 to $929,700. 

Sales of apartment properties reached 753 in January 2014, an increase of 30.7 per cent compared to the 576 sales in January 2013, and an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to the 657 sales in January 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 per cent from January 2013 to $371,500. 

Attached property sales in January 2014 totalled 279, an increase of 19.7 per cent compared to the 233 sales in January 2013, and a 6.9 per cent increase from the 261 attached properties sold in January 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 1.7 per cent between January 2013 and 2014 to $457,700. 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Maria Mak-Burnaby Real Estate-Vancouver home sales were up 14%

Repeated warnings of an overheated market failed to deter home buyers in Canada’s largest cities in 2013, with the number of Toronto home sales up two per cent over the previous year, Vancouver sales were up 14 per cent and Calgary sales rose 11 per cent. 


Homes in the Greater Toronto Area continued their robust rise in price, up 5.2 per cent to an average price of $523,036 in December, compared to $497,130 in 2012, the Toronto Real Estate Board reports.

After a slow start to 2013, GTA housing sales picked up in the second half of the year. Total sales for 2013 were 87,111, compared to 85,496 transactions in 2012.

Even the condo market showed gains, with the average price in Toronto rising 7.6 per cent to $367,376 compared to December 2012, while detached homes prices rose by nearly 19 per cent to $864,351.

Although December sales tend to be slow, new listings were down almost four per cent in December, which helped fuel frantic bidding wars in some Toronto neighbourhoods close to the downtown and transit lines.

Pickup in Vancouver sales

For Metro Vancouver, total sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in 2013 reached 28,524, a 14 per cent increase from the 25,032 sales recorded in 2012.

But the number of residential properties listed for sale on the MLS declined 6.2 per cent in 2013 to 54,742, part of a trend in major cities as baby boomers hold onto their properties.

The average house price in the Greater Vancouver area was $603,400.
The price of a detached single family home rose 2.5 per cent to $927,000, while condo prices were up 1.8 per cent for the year to $367,800.

“It was a year of stability for the Greater Vancouver housing market,” said Sandra Wyant, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president. “Balanced conditions allowed home prices in the region to remain steady, with just a modest increase over the last 12 months.”

Calgary sales powered by economy

In Calgary, 16,302 single family homes changed hands, an eight per cent increase, and 4,007 condos were sold, a 14 per cent rise.

The benchmark price for a single-family home was $472,200 in December, an 8.6 per cent increase from the previous year.

“Two consecutive years of elevated levels of net migration, combined with an improving job outlook and confidence surrounding long-term economic prospects, supported the demand growth,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist for the Calgary Real Estate Board.

How strong the housing market remains in 2014 depends on interest rates.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned in an interview Sunday that Canada will face global pressure to raise rates in 2014 as the U.S. Federal Reserve pulls back on its stimulus efforts and the U.S. economy rebounds.

Toronto and Calgary prices to continue upward

The Toronto Real Estate Board predicts price growth will continue to exceed inflation in 2014, largely because demand for low-rise houses continues to far outstrip supply.

“The seller’s market conditions that drove price growth in the second half of 2013 will remain in place in many parts of the GTA,” said TREB senior manager of market analysis Jason Mercer.

“Some neighbourhoods, especially those characterized by low-rise house types like singles, semis and townhomes, will continue to have less than two months of inventory.”

In Calgary, both prices and numbers of sales are expected to rise in 2014, the Calgary real estate. 

Contact Maria Mak and her elite team @ Sutton Centre Realty @ 604-839-6368 or visit her website www.mariamak.com for all the latest housing market updates.