Market in Vancouver was hottest on record for past 15 years
Province
It was a very good year, but not quite a record one for Greater Vancouver home sales last year.
The year started out at a record clip but around June, buyers backed off and a much steadier market emerged over the past six months, giving buyers more time to make buying decisions.
Year-end numbers released yesterday show prices posting healthy increases across the region and although the market has steadied, this year should be another active one.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver saw overall sales slip by four per cent last year to 36,258, compared to 37,817 in 2003.
Despite a return to a more steady market, board president Andrew Peck said it was still a fantastic year. To put it in perspective, 2004 was one of the hottest years on record for real estate sales over the past 15 years.
“Consumers have confidence that our economy will remain strong. Interest rates remain very low, which still provides lots of opportunities for buyers to enter or move up in this market,” he said.
“Real estate as an investment continues to be an attractive option in Greater Vancouver,” he added.
It was a similar picture in the Fraser Valley where sales declined slightly from 2003’s 18,351 sales to 18,167. More expensive homes pushed total dollar volume of sales in 2004 in the valley to $5.3 billion, an increase of 12 per cent.
Prices moved upward across the Valley.
“What is amazing is the increase in value for Fraser Valley homeowners,” Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president Moss Moloney said. “Obviously, buying a home in the Valley is a smart investment.”
In Vancouver, the benchmark price of a single detached home rose 10 per cent in 2004 to $496,980, an apartment rose by 14.9 per cent to $246,550 and an attached home rose 17 per cent to $329,520.
The average sale price of a single-family detached house in the Fraser Valley rose 15.6 per to $348,018 in 2004 from $301,121 in 2003.
Townhouses sold for an average $220,450, an increase of almost $30,000 or 15.7 per cent from 2003. The average apartment rose from $122,691 to $136,704 in 2004.
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MEDIAN HOME PRICES
Single Family Detached Townhouse Apartment
Dec. 2004 Dec. 2003 change Dec. 2004 Dec. 2003 change Dec. 2004 Dec. 2003 change
Abbotsford $280,000 $247,000 13.4% $215,500 $159,900 34.8% $112,500 $91,750 22.6%
Burnaby $445,750 $435,000 2.5% $297,000 $279,000 6.5% $197,400 $169,900 16.2%
Coquitlam $399,900 $365,000 9.6% $280,000 $208,000 34.6% $162,400 $152,000 6.8%
Delta – South $434,000 $379,000 14.5% n/a n/a – n/a n/a –
Delta North $313,000 $291,000 7.6% $198,000 $156,000 26.9% $90,000 $133,500 -32.6%
Langley $335,000 $310,000 8.1% $229,000 $202,000 13.4% $148,900 $125,000 19.1%
Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows $330,000 $314,900 4.8% $187,250 $179,000 4.6% n/a n/a –
Mission $230,000 $211,000 9.0% $132,000 $165,500 -20.2% $50,500 $85,000 -40.6%
New Westminster n/a n/a – n/a n/a – $171,000 $152,000 12.5%
North Vancouver $544,900 $489,000 11.4% $368,000 $341,000 7.9% $227,250 $193,000 17.7%
Port Coquitlam $342,000 $323,000 5.9% $285,750 $217,000 31.7% $147,000 $115,000 27.8%
Richmond $430,000 $397,000 8.3% $306,000 $275,000 11.3% $170,000 $193,000 -11.9%
Sunshine Coast $257,250 $249,000 3.3% n/a n/a – n/a n/a –
Surrey $355,000 $317,500 11.8% $218,000 $188,500 15.6% $145,350 $117,000 24.2%
Vancouver East $429,000 $378,000 13.5% $347,650 $273,800 27.0% $186,500 $138,000 35.1%
Vancouver West $805,000 $733,000 9.8% $492,450 $385,000 27.9% $279,750 $255,000 9.7%
West Vancouver – Howe Sound $850,000 $845,000 0.6% n/a n/a – n/a n/a –
White Rock $443,000 $415,000 6.7% $265,000 $296,000 -10.5% $199,000 $179,000 11.2%
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver; Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
© The Vancouver Province 2005