The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver's (REBGV) MLS® statistics for August report a modest increase in sales activity for several Greater Vancouver communities.
"Communities around Vancouver appear to be fairing better in today's real estate market than the past few months. This is a good sign that consumer confidence in building in those areas," said REBGV president Bill Phillips.
Year-over-year total sales dropped only slightly in August compared to June and July monthly reports. August overall property sales are down 10 per as 1,739 units sold last month compared with the 1,936 units sold at the same time last year.
"The market is slowly strengthening from sluggish summertime home sales. But with the holiday season now behind us and the traditional upswing in fall activity ahead, we should start to see even more improvement in real estate sales," Phillips added.
The benchmark price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver is $341,090, a decline of just under one per cent compared with August 1999. Detached home sales in August were recorded at 973 units, down 8.6 per cent from a year ago.
In the attached category, the benchmark price is currently $208,830, revealing a 3.6 per cent decrease from one year ago. Change in attached property sales reflected an 18.6 per cent drop as 241 units changed hands compared with last year's sales of 296 units.
Prices of apartments also moved upward in August. The benchmark price of $161,780 is 2.7 per cent higher than the same month last year. An increase in apartment sales was noted in several Greater Vancouver communities, however, overall apartment sales was down 8 per cent as 525 units sold in August compared with 575 units sold last year.
Several bright spots were noted in August 2000 compared with August 1999:
DETACHED:
Port Moody/Belcarra up 23% (21 units sold from 17)
West Vancouver up 25% (54 units sold from 43)
ATTACHED:
Richmond up 41% (65 units sold from 46)
APARTMENTS:
Burnaby up 68% (79 units sold from 47)
Coquitlam up 66% (35 units sold from 21)
New Westminster up 36% (30 units sold from 22)
Richmond up 14% (57 units sold from 50)