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Market Update
Demand continues to fuel housing market
A total of 4,033 properties sold in the Greater Vancouver area in March, an increase of 2.4% compared to 3,938 sales last March. Apartment sales were up 8.4% and townhome sales were up 13% over sales one year ago while detached home sales decreased 7.7% year over year. March sales were up by 37.1% compared to sales in February 2006.
While inventory has been low over the past year, March saw an increase of 13% in active listings compared to last March. Demand continues to be high and more listing activity should bring greater balance to the market.
The March benchmark price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver was $610,382, up 21.3% from one year ago, the benchmark townhome price was $375,919, up 17.6%, while the benchmark price of an apartment property increased to $305,002, up 22.6% compared to March 2005.
Area Updates:
· Port Moody: Total sales in March were up 37.8% over March 2005 and up 59.3%
over sales in February 2006. A total of 32 detached homes sold in March, up 18.5% over the 27 sales one year ago. Townhome sales were up 53.8% year over year – 40 units sold last month compared to 26 units in March 2005. Apartment sales of 30 were up by 42.8% compared to 21 sales last March.
· Coquitlam: Overall March sales dipped slightly by 4.1% compared to last March but were up 29.3% over sales in February 2006. Detached home sales totalled 140 in March, down from 157 sales in March 2005. Townhome sales totalled 34 last month; there were 51 sales last March. Apartment sales were up 26.8% over March 2005 – 104 units sold, up from 82 one year ago.
March 2006 - Housing Price Index |
|||||
Detached House |
Port Moody | Coquitlam | Port Coquitlam | Maple Ridge* | Burnaby |
Benchmark Price |
$582,796 | $529,907 | $442,727 | $382,186 | $608,828 |
| % change 1 year | 24.3% | 25.2% | 16.9% | 14.9% | 22.4% |
| % change 3 years | 41.4% | 56.4% | 48.4% | 42.6% | 54.2% |
| % change 5 years | 61.6% | 88.1% | 97.2% | 72.2% | 83.1% |
Townhome |
Port Moody | Coquitlam | Port Coquitlam | Maple Ridge* | Burnaby |
Benchmark Price |
$325,218 | $349,650 | $327,434 | $254,460 | $368,719 |
| % change 1 year | 21.4% | 20.1% | 18.8% | 14.1% | 19.3% |
| % change 3 years | 49.0% | 56.1% | 47.4% | 54.7% | 62.4% |
| % change 5 years | 90.3% | 99.1% | 82.1% | 74.4% | 89.0% |
Apartment |
Port Moody | Coquitlam | Port Coquitlam | Maple Ridge* | Burnaby |
Benchmark Price |
$262,188 | $229,393 | $197,940 | $199,578 | $272,450 |
| % change 1 year | 31.2% | 21.3% | 20.3% | 18.0% | 24.5% |
| % change 3 years | 83.7% | 63.4% | 85.5% | 63.0% | 72.7% |
| % change 5 years | 126.6% | 97.7% | 139.4% | 140.8% | 109.7% |
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver *Includes Pitt Meadows
Housing Price Index (HPI) measures the price inflation on the same type of property each month – a Benchmark House. This gives a more accurate measure of house prices than either the Average or Median Price as it is less affected by abnormally high or low sale prices in any given month.
If
you have
any questions about real estate or would like a
no-cost, no-obligation
market
evaluation, please call me.
Gord
Allan
604.936.0422
gordallan@remax.net
April 2006