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Too early to tell if 2010 Olympic bid has had an effect on sales

Wyng Chow
Sun

Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver sizzled in June, but leading real estate entrepreneurs remain cautious over whether to attribute the brisk market activity to the euphoria surrounding the 2010 Olympic Games.

“When you make an exact prediction, you can hear God laughing,” said David Andrews, broker-owner of Re/Max Real Estate Services.

The latest Multiple Listing Service figures show a total of 3,525 detached homes, townhouses and condominium apartments sold last month, up 31 per cent from 2,689 units in June 2002.

Andrews’ Oakridge operation, perennially among the top-producing realty firms in Vancouver, set a new office record of 266 sales for the month of June, 50 per cent higher than the same period last year.

“The prevailing low interest rates do wonderful things for the housing market, and the Olympics will definitely help,” Andrews said Friday. “Consumer confidence always helps, as do a boost in tourism and more job creation.”

Condos continued to be the hot ticket last month, as 1,355 units changed hands through the MLS, up nearly 50 per cent from 911 sales the year before. The average price of $212,200 in June represented a 9.5-per-cent increase from $193,800 a year ago.The hottest demand for condos was seen on Vancouver’s west side, including downtown, where a total of 603 units were snapped up last month, almost doubling the 317 units in June 2002.

Among detached homes, a total of 1,659 units sold last month in Greater Vancouver, up 23 per cent from 1,350 sales the previous year. June’s average detached price of $436,900 was 9.7 per cent higher than $395,500 a year earlier.

Hot spots for detached sales last month included Squamish (up 47.4 per cent), Burnaby (up 47 per cent), and Coquitlam (up 42.3 per cent).

Townhouse sales in the region climbed 19.4 per cent last month to 511 units sold, compared to 428 units the previous year. The average price of $275,800 was 11-per-cent more than $248,500 in June 2002.

Seventeen townhouse units sold in Squamish in June, more than double the eight sales the previous year. The average price of $189,100 represented a year-over-year increase of 44.6 per cent over $130,800.

On Wednesday, immediately after the International Olympic Committee announced Vancouver-Whistler would play host to the 2010 Winter Games, economists and housing experts concurred the anticipated boost to the B.C. economy would raise property values, particularly in Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.

Realtor Brian Thompson said Friday some Squamish homeowners who had listed their properties for sale have decided to take them off the market to see what transpires over the next month or so. “Other vendors are now asking $20,000 to $30,000 more for similar homes than they would have two or three weeks ago,” said Thompson, vice-president of Dexter Associates Realty.

“There seems to be an air of enthusiasm in the Vancouver marketplace,” Thompson said. “I don’t think we can attribute it to the Olympics yet. The market has been active for some time.”

Futurist David Baxter and economist Helmut Pastrick have said they expect the Olympics to impact Greater Vancouver, housing prices, but to more modest levels.

In the six Fraser Valley communities, a total of 1,777 residential properties sold last month on the MLS, up about 30 per cent from 1,369 units last year.

The valley’s average detached price of $295,500 was 6.4 per cent higher than $277,700 in June 2002. The average townhouse price dipped by $500 to $190,100, while condos fetched an average of $129,400, up 14 per cent from $113,500.

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JUNE DETACHED HOUSING SALES

Units Sold

Change from last month

Average sale price

Change from last year

Median sale price

Change from last year

BURNABY NORTH 77 22 $433.800 $51,800 $408,000 $64,000

BURNABY SOUTH 64 11 $455,400 $83,800 $443,000 $98,000

COQUITLAM 185 35 $358,300 $41,800 $329,900 $22,400

DELTA SOUTH 59 2 $417,300 $71,100 $352,500 $33,500

MAPLE RIDGE/PITT MEADOWS 180 14 $281,000 $18,500 $269,900 $11,900

NEW WESTMINSTER 41 -6 $311,700 $8,500 $312,000 $17,000

NORTH VANCOUVER 149 32 $511,600 $69,500 $480,000 $64,000

PORT COQUITLAM 60 -2 $269,000 $4,000 $269,000 $17,500

PORT MOODY 27 3 $397,300 $14,300 $348,500 $22,000

RICHMOND 166 -2 $396,400 $1,700 $360,000 $30,000

SQUAMISH 28 -3 $293,000 $41,500 $275,000 ——————

SUNSHINE COAST 52 -32 $242,700 $42,700 $207,000 $36,500

VANCOUVER EAST 282 13 $368,000 $22,400 $350,000 $30,000

VANCOUVER WEST 180 1 $772,200 $59,800 $705,000 $117,000

WEST VANCOUVER 180 -15 $899,500 $198,800 $745,000 $125,000

ABBOTSFORD 179 38 $251,800 $32,000 $238,000 $32,000

LANGLEY 112 -13 $306,000 $31,600 $298,000 $35,000

MISSION 73 10 $207,500 $15,200 $204,000 $12,000

NORTH DELTA 96 25 $287,000 $32,700 $275,000 $33,000

SURREY 418 2 $293,000 $18,400 $292,000 $20,000

WHITE ROCK 105 -6 $438,500 $5,600 $387,500 $4,500

Source: REBGV. FVREB. MLS

© Copyright  2003 Vancouver Sun