Province
Lower prices are triggering more real-estate sales in some B.C. communities.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that June 2009 saw 75 per cent more sales overall compared with last June.
A key driver of sales is dropping prices.
Benchmark prices of residential detached houses on MLS, the online database used by realtors, have fallen 8.4 per cent over the past 12 months.
That price decline contributed to an 81-per-cent increase in detached house sales this month versus last June.
Apartment prices have also fallen, with benchmark prices for condos down 8.2 per cent from June 2008.
The down market spurred 69 per cent more condo sales this month compared with last June.
REBGV president, Scott Russell, also credits low interest rates for the sales lift. “Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability,” he said in a release.
Yet he cautioned that current conditions still indicate a buyer’s market.
“The current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer,” he said.
The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board saw house sales increase 20 per cent from a year ago, while average prices continued to drag, down 10 per cent from June 2008.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board also reported a better June, with 40 per cent more sales than last June.
Detached home benchmark prices were down eight per cent in the Fraser Valley since last June, while apartment prices fell 9.6 per cent and townhomes dropped 10 per cent.
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