Buyer activity brings greater stability to the housing market

VANCOUVER, B.C.  May 4, 2009  With more buyers and fewer homes for sale in recent months, the Greater Vancouver housing market has entered a more moderate and balanced state.

For the sixth consecutive month, new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined in Greater Vancouver, down 33.7 percent to 4,649 in April 2009 compared to April 2008, when 7,010 new units were listed. The total number of property listings on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), while slightly down compared to last month, remains unchanged compared to the same period in 2008.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,963 in April 2009, a decline of eight percent from the 3,218 sales recorded in April 2008, and an increase of 31 percent compared to last month.

"We're seeing greater balance in the housing market, as evidenced by a strong sales to active listings ratio of over 19 per cent, Scott Russell, REBGV president said. The result is a relatively stable market in which homes are being realistically priced.

"The bridge between buyer demand and housing supply is continuing to narrow, which, as we see, helps bring stability to home prices, he said. The trends in our housing market over the last couple of months offer a much more comfortable, historically normal set of conditions."

Sales of detached properties declined eight percent to 1,190 from the 1,293 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 12.2 per cent from April 2008 to $675,268.

Sales of apartment properties in April 2009 declined 10.5 percent to 1,179, compared to 1,317 sales in April 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 12.6 percent from April 2008 to $340,203.