February 2003 sales 8.2 per cent lower than in February 2002, but buyers step up purchases as winter fades
Wyng Chow
Sun
Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver dropped in February over the previous year, but housing analysts expect the market to quickly rebound with spring approaching, coupled with Tuesday’s quarter-point rise in the Bank of Canada’s benchmark interest rate.
The latest Multiple Listing Service figures show a total of 2,760 detached homes, townhouses and condominium apartments sold last month, a decrease of 8.2 per cent from 3,008 transactions in February 2002.
It was the second consecutive month of declining volume this year, as January sales fell 12 per cent from the previous year. However, average prices continued climbing, as inventory remains tight.
“Typically, the very beginning of the year is relatively quiet, with buyers stepping up their housing purchases as spring approaches,” said Stephanie Corcoran, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Mortgage lenders said while commercial banks have hiked their prime rates — charged to their best customers — to 4.75 per cent, in response to the Bank of Canada’s move to raise its benchmark interest rate to three per cent, the first increase since July 2002, these actions have yet to affect fixed mortgage rates.
“An increase in the prime lending rate doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with rising mortgage rates,” said Steve Rogerson, Vancouver regional sales manager for TD Canada Trust.
While the hike in the prime rate would affect customers with variable-rate mortgages tied to prime, it remains to be seen whether fixed-rate mortgages will change, he added.
“[Even so], a quarter-point increase would not be enough to impact home-buying trends one way or another,” Rogerson said. “We don’t see a blip slowing the market down.”
If anything, he said any anticipated increase in mortgage rates would stimulate housing sales further, as people with pre-approved mortgages “get off the fence” and act on their purchasing decisions.
“So we might expect to see an initial flurry of activity,” said Rogerson.
According to MLS data, condo sales in Greater Vancouver rose 3.7 per cent in February to 1,061 units, compared to 1,023 units the previous year. The average price of $203,500 was 8.6 per cent higher than $187,400 a year ago.
Townhouse sales fell 8.6 per cent last month to 406 units sold, compared to 444 units in February 2002. The average price of $258,100 was 6.6-per-cent more than $242,100 the year before.
Sales of detached properties saw the biggest drop, with 1,293 units changing hands last month, down 16.1 per cent from 1,541 homes the previous year. However, the average detached price of $434,000 represented an 11.4-per-cent increase over $389,700 a year earlier.
The number of active listings among the three main housing categories fell nearly six per cent to 8,820 units in February, down from 9,370 units the previous year.
In the six FraserValley communities, a total of 1,277 sales was recorded last month on the MLS, a dip of 5.5 per cent from 1,352 deals in February 2002.
But year-over-year average selling prices increased in each housing category, with detached homes climbing 12 per cent to $293,300, condos improving 10.5 per cent to $119,000, and townhouses rising 5.4 per cent to $191,400.
Active listings totalled 6,106 units in February, down 1.7 per cent from 6,209 the previous year.
HOUSING COSTS BY AREA:
Location Average sale price Average price change from last year
Abbotsford $ 230,100 $ 18,000
Burnaby North $ 405,700 $ 40,500
Burnaby South $ 409,600 $ 10,300
Coquitlam $ 367,300 $ 40,700
Delta North $ 287,800 $ 24,600 Delta South $ 385,800 $ 58,900
Langley $ 287,700 $ 36,000
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows $ 267,500 $ 25,000
New Westminster $ 296,000 $ 8,200
North Vancouver $ 497,000 $ 76,400
Port Coquitlam $ 290,700 $ 33,100 Port Moody $ 425,200 $ 20,300
Richmond $ 405,600 $ 53,700
Squamish $ 261,900 $ 41,500
Sunshine Coast $ 219,400 $
2,000 Surrey $ 286,600 $ 20,600
Vancouver East $ 353,400 $ 31,200
Vancouver West $ 759,800 $ 74,200
West Vancouver $ 836,300 $ 67,400
White Rock $ 475,500 $ 70,800
Source: REBGV, FVREB, MLS, Vancouver Sun
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