Paul Luke
Province
Home buyers lured by Vancouver‘s bright employment outlook plunged into the regional housing market in the fourth quarter of 2007, driving prices to double-digit gains, Royal LePage Real Estate Services said yesterday.
A standard two-storey house in Vancouver fetched an average of $895,000 in the quarter, up 11.4 per cent from $803,500 a year earlier.
While that increase was dwarfed by Saskatoon‘s 56.7-per-cent surge and Regina‘s 35.8-per-cent rise, Vancouver remains Canada‘s most expensive real-estate market.
The region’s rising prices have forced entry-level buyers to shift their focus to more affordable types of properties, Royal LePage said.
“The majority of buyer activity came from first-time buyers who recognized condominiums as their only means to enter the housing market,” the firm said.
The average price of a detached bungalow in Vancouver rose 12.4 per cent year over year to $795,250, while a standard condominium climbed 10.9 per cent to $428,250.
Detached bungalows in North Vancouver posted the area’s largest increase, with the average price climbing 19.6 per cent to $670,000.
In East Vancouver, the average price of a standard condo rose by 19 per cent from last year to $338,000, the firm said.
Royal LePage Northshore president Bill Binnie said the area will keep growing as the 2010 Olympics nears and the city increases its need for construction workers.
Canada‘s average price for a standard two-storey house was $399,738, up 11.3 per cent from a year earlier. The average for a detached bungalow rose 11.6 per cent to $337,555.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
