Massive jump in values over past 10 years
Wendy McLellan
Province
Construction cranes in Vancouver reflect the building bonanza. Bloomberg file photo
City and suburban home prices in the Lower Mainland have doubled over the past 10 years, following the national trend in Canada‘s major real estate markets, according to a Royal LePage report released yesterday.
Across the country, urban properties have increased by a slightly larger amount in most cities compared with the first quarter of 1998, but suburban homes have kept pace as homebuyers look for bigger — and more affordable — backyards, the report said.
In Vancouver, the average single-family bungalow increased this year to $723,250 from $366,250 in 1998, and two-storey homes rose 117 per cent to $809,500 from $372,500.
The price of an average suburban bungalow in the Lower Mainland was $493,2333, up from $240,000, and two-storey homes in the suburbs increased to $485,000 from $254,967. City condo prices rose 127.5 per cent, and suburban condo prices climbed 55.5 per cent.
Canada‘s housing market has been in a decade-long growth spurt –the longest cycle in the country’s history — which ended earlier this year, the report said.
“A look back at the last 10 years in Canadian real estate growth reveals that typically, home prices in urban markets have grown faster than those in the suburbs, with both areas showing impressive appreciation,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.
Nationally, the average price of a standard two-storey home in an urban neighbourhood increased 129.2 per cent compared with 1998, while a similar home in the suburbs is up 110.1 per cent. City condo prices rose 131.5 per cent while suburban condos increased 103.7 per cent to $212,323.
While housing prices are expected to increase slightly this year, the Lower Mainland’s real estate market has cooled with fewer sales and more properties listed for sale.
Residential sales declined by 30.7 per cent last month compared with May 2007, while new listings were up 20 per cent, according to statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Still, the price for detached properties rose 8.4 per cent; apartment prices were up by 8.7 per cent and townhouse prices climbed by nine per cent.
In the Fraser Valley, real estate sales dropped by 26 per cent last month compared to May 2007, and listings were up by 33 per cent compared with a year earlier.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
