VANCOUVER, B.C. – August 5, 2014 – The Greater Vancouver housing market continues to see slightly elevated demand from home buyers, steady levels of supply from home sellers and incremental gains in home values depending on the area and property type.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 3,061 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2014. This represents a 3.9 percent increase compared to the 2,946 sales recorded in July 2013, and a 10.1 percent decline compared to the 3,406 sales in June 2014.

“This is the fourth consecutive month that the Greater Vancouver market has exceeded 3,000 sales,” Darcy McLeod, REBGV president-elect said. “Prior to this, our market had not surpassed the 3,000 sale mark since June of 2011.”

Last month’s sales were 3.8 percent above the 10-year sales average for July of 2,948. The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver* is currently $628,600. This represents a 4.4 percent increase compared to July 2013.

“Today’s activity continues to put Metro Vancouver in the upper reaches of a balanced real estate market,” McLeod said.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 19.6 percent in Metro Vancouver. This ratio has ranged between 18 and 20 percent over the last four months.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 4,925 in July. This represents a 1.5 percent increase compared to the 4,854 new listings in July 2013 and a 7.8 percent decline from the 5,339 new listings in June.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 15,617, a six percent decline compared to July 2013 and a 2.5 percent decrease compared to June 2014.

Sales of detached properties in July 2014 reached 1,322, an increase of 5.8 percent from the 1,249 detached sales recorded in July 2013, and a 68 percent increase from the 787 units sold in July 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.5 percent from July 2013 to $980,500.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,212 in July 2014, an increase of 0.2 percent compared to the 1,210 sales in July 2013, and a 30.7 percent increase compared to the 927 sales in July 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.2 percent from July 2013 to $376,500.

Attached property sales in July 2014 totalled 527, an 8.2 percent increase compared to the 487 sales in July 2013, and a 37.2 percent increase over the 384 attached properties sold in July 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.4 percent between July 2013 and 2014 to $472,400.

Download The Full Market Report Here