Sales activity up 28 per cent year over year, seeing the second highest volumes ever; prices up 10.3 per cent, says board
Joannah Connolly
Other
The weather wasn’t the only thing scorching in Greater Vancouver in June, with real estate sales seeing the hottest June on record, and the second hottest month ever, a according to Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) figures released July 3.
Sales rose 28.4 per cent compared with June 2014, and an increase of 7.9 per cent compared with May 2015.
Last month’s 4,375 unit sales were 29.1 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month. It’s also the fourth straight month with more than 4,000 sales, which is a first in the REBGV’s history. The previous highest number of residential home sales was 4,434, recorded in May 2005.
“Housing market activity comes in cycles; we’re in an up cycle right now that looks similar to the mid-2000s,” said Darcy McLeod, REBGV president. “It would be easy to point to one factor that’s causing this cycle, but the truth is that it’s a number of different factors.
“Conditions today are being driven by low interest rates, a declining supply of detached homes, a growing population, a provincial economy that’s outperforming the rest of Canada, pent-up demand from previous years and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that we live in a highly desirable region.”
Like in the Fraser Valley, there was an increase in new listings in June, but it was still not enough to keep up with demand, said the board.
Prices were again at record highs, with the benchmark price of a Greater Vancouver home rising to $694,000. This represents a 10.3 per cent increase compared with June 2014.
Condos overtook townhomes in being the property type that saw the most sales growth, although single-family homes again saw by far the biggest price increases.
Sales and Listings
Greater Vancouver home sales rose 28.4 per cent to 4,375 units in June, compared with the 3,406 sales recorded in June 2014, and an increase of 7.9 per cent compared with the 4,056 sales in May 2015.
Broken down by housing type, single-family detached home sales in June reached 1,920, an increase of 31.3 per cent from the 1,462 detached sales recorded in June 2014.
Apartment properties sales saw the biggest annual rise, reaching 1,774 in June 2015, an increase of 35.6 per cent compared to the 1,308 sales in June 2014.
Sales of townhouses and other attached properties in June totalled 681, an increase of a much more modest 7.1 per cent over the 636 sales recorded in June 2014. Attached properties were the only housing type to see a month-over-month decline, dropping 7.1 per cent since May.
“Demand in our detached home market continues to drive activity across Metro Vancouver,” said McLeod. “There were more detached home sales in the region last month than we’ve seen during the month of June in more than 10 years.”
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What’s Up, What’s Down – At a Glance |
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Jun/May 15 |
Jun 15/14 |
|
Overall Sales |
+7.9% |
+28.4% |
|
– Detached |
+9.5% |
+31.3% |
|
– Attached |
-7.1% |
+7.1% |
|
– Apartment |
+10.9% |
+35.6 % |
|
New Listings |
+6.3% |
+8.7% |
|
Current Listings |
-1.3% |
-23.9% |
New listings for all property types in Metro Vancouver totalled 5,803 in June. This is an 8.7 per cent increase compared with the 5,339 new listings in June 2014 and a jump of 6.3 per cent from last month.
However, the total number of properties currently listed for sale on the region’s MLS is 12,181, a 23.9 per cent decline compared with June 2014 and a 1.3 per cent decline compared to May 2015. This is the lowest active listing total for June since 2006, said the board.
“We’re seeing a steady stream of new listings entering the market, but the overall number of homes for sale is not keeping up with buyer demand,” McLeod said.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio in June was 35.9 per cent. This is the highest that this ratio has been in Metro Vancouver since June 2006, keeping the region well inside sellers’ market territory.
Benchmark Prices (MLS Home Price Index)
The benchmark price for combined MLS residential property types in Metro Vancouver continued to set its monthly new record, currently $694,000. This represents a 10.3 per cent increase compared to June 2014.
The benchmark price for a detached property in Metro Vancouver now stands at $1,123,900, a higher-than-usual annual increase of 14.8 per cent compared with June 2014.
Townhome and other attached unit prices increased 7.1 per cent between June 2014 and 2015 to $506,900.
The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 5.3 per cent year over year to $400,200.
The composite benchmark prices by housing type are:
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Greater Vancouver MLS® Benchmark Prices % Change |
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Jun 2015 |
Jun/May 15 |
Jun 15/14 |
|
Detached |
$1,123,900 |
+1.7% |
+14.8% |
|
Townhome |
$506,900 |
+1.2% |
+7.1% |
|
Apartment |
$400,200 |
+0.8% |
+5.3% |
Home prices vary widely throughout the REBGV region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location, check the detailed MLS Home Price Index in the REBGV full statistics package.
To view our useful infographic that breaks down the stats area by area, click here.
© 2015 Real Estate Weekly