Langley Real Estate

Benchmark price of Metro Vancouver homes up 4.1% from a year ago; for Fraser Valley detached homes, sales are up 1.4% from last year

"Normally, November is a low sales month," Somerville, director of the centre for urban economics and real estate at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, said after the release of two real estate surveys Thursday. "But what we're seeing here is that sales are higher [in November] than from July through October. That says there's a strengthening and recovery in the market."

A Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver survey showed November sales totalling 2,509, a 7.4-per-cent increase compared with October 2010 and an 18.6-per-cent decline from the 3,083 sales in November 2009.

This November's sales also represent a 187.1-per-cent increase over the 874 residential sales in November 2008, a 13-per-cent decline compared with November 2007's 2,883 sales, and a 6.4-per-cent increase compared with the 2,358 sales in November 2006.

Total property listings in Metro Vancouver now sit at 12,384, a 12.1-per-cent decline from last month and a 12-percent increase from November 2009.

REBGV president Jake Moldowan said November figures indicate a fairly balanced market. "Activity on the buyer side has been stable, with slight increases, over the last few months, while the number of homes listed for sale in our region has declined each month since ... a peak in June."

The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver increased 4.1 per cent, to $580,080, in November 2010, from $557,384 in November 2009. The price has remained virtually unchanged since June of this year.

Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported Thursday that home sales in the Fraser Valley have been stable for the fifth consecutive month, with November sales showing a modest increase over October.

"Consumers are responding to how prices have moderated in the last six months, in addition to the double dip in mortgage rates," board president Deanna Horn said.

There were 1,084 sales in November, an increase of seven per cent compared with 1,014 sales in October and a decrease of 29 per cent compared with 1,522 sales in November last year.

There was a drop in new listings in November, but Horn said: "It's not unusual to see a dip in new listings at this time of year, however the level of home-buying interest ... is stronger than we expected." given we're

The benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes in November was $504,848, down 0.2 per cent compared with October, and 1.4 per cent higher than the $497,697 in November 2009.