Home sales increased in May for the first time since September 2011, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Tuesday.

The year-over-year increase is small at just one per cent, and the number of sales is still 19.4 per cent below the 10-year average, but sales jumped 9.7 per cent when compared to April, the board reported.

Even though historically (sales) are still low, they are still improved,” said Sandra Wyant, president of the Greater Vancouver board.

The number of listings is 18 per cent below the number of listings last year and the sales-to-listings ratio for May was 17 per cent, whereas in January it was just 12 per cent, Wyant said.

“We’ve seen some steadying trends over the last three months,” Wyant said. “The number of homes listed for sale has been keeping pace with the number of property sales, leading to a balanced sales-to-listings ratio. This is having a stabilizing influence on home price activity.”

Meanwhile, home sales in the Fraser Valley were the slowest they’ve been in May since 2001, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported Tuesday.

Sales were down 15 per cent compared with sales in May last year, but up one per cent from this April.

The number of properties for sale was also the highest it’s been this year, but slightly lower than the number for sale last year.

Ron Todson, president of the Fraser Valley board, called it a “transitioning market.”

“Sales are about 20-per-cent lower than normal for this time of year, while the number of new listings coming on stream is right on average,” Todson said.

The composite benchmark price in May for detached homes in Greater Vancouver dropped 5.2 per cent from May 2012 to $917,200, while the benchmark price of an apartment dropped 3.7 per cent to $365,600 and for a townhome fell 3.2 per cent to $454,900, the board reported.

Despite the low numbers of sales, prices are stable in the Fraser Valley, Todson said.

The benchmark price of a single family detached home in the Fraser Valley was $549,200 in May, an increase of 0.2 per cent from the same month last year. The benchmark price of a townhouse is $298,000, down 2.9 per cent year-over-year, while the benchmark price of an apartment was virtually unchanged at $203,400, the Fraser Valley board reported.

Source: Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun

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