April sales numbers may be down but Vancouver properties priced right are selling
People are still shying away from investing in Vancouver real estate, April sales numbers show.
This April’s sales were the lowest April total since 2001 and 20.9 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported yesterday.
“While the number of home sales remains below average, properties that are priced right are selling and we’re seeing greater balance between buyer demand and the number of homes listed for sale,” says Sandra Wyant, REBGV president.
There were 2,627 home sales in Vancouver in April, a decrease of 6.1 per cent from last April and an increase of 11.9 per cent from March.
In the Fraser Valley, sales were also up from March, but down from last year, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported.
Board president Ron Todson said sales usually increase in the spring, and this year is no exception.
“What’s different this year is that a number of external factors, such as tighter credit rules and the government’s spotlight on consumer debt have made some consumers more cautious about buying or selling a property,” Todson said in a news release.
Despite sluggish sales, prices have been creeping up again across the Lower Mainland, the real estate boards said.
“There have been modest increases in home prices across the region over the last three months. This comes on the heels of home price declines of approximately five to six per cent in Greater Vancouver during the last half of 2012,” Wyant said.
The home price index composite price in Greater Vancouver is now $597,300 for all property types, the board’s numbers show. Although this is down 3.9 per cent from April 2011, it is up 1.6 per cent from this January.
In the Fraser Valley, the benchmark composite price is $426,900 for all property types, down 0.2 per cent from a year ago, but up 1.4 per cent from January, the RVREB numbers show.
“Pricing is incredibly important in slower than average markets,” said Todson. “We’re not seeing the rapid increases in home values of the last decade, which means that sellers may need to sharpen their pricing in order to be competitive, but buyers won’t see dramatic price drops.”
On April 1, the province reverted to the GST and PST tax structure. Buyers in April saved a bit of money on their real estate commissions under the new rules, because tax on real-estate commissions is reduced to five per cent from the 12 per cent HST.
The Fraser Valley region includes North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission, while the REBGV includes Vancouver, Richmond, Ladner, Tsawwassen, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Bowen Island, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast and Whistler.
Meanwhile, a new BMO report out Thursday found that Eighty per cent of prospective buyers know if a home is right for them as soon as they step inside.
The BMO Psychology of House Hunting Report says Canadians spent an average of five months house hunting and viewed 10 homes before buying.
Nearly 70 per cent of buyers are willing to settle for less than perfect, but one-third feel rushed into making a purchase, the report says.
Canadian homeowners spent an average of five months house hunting and visited ten homes before making the decision to buy, the report says.
Source: Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun
