Real Estate Goes for Gold during Olympics
Most real estate experts predicted a slow February as the Olympics were expected to distract interested buyers. Nevertheless, the market continued to show strength throughout the month and the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board reports 2,473 sales in February.
Not only are these impressive sales figures, but they also represent a 30 per cent jump in sales from January and an even more dramatic hike compared to the 1,480 sales recorded in February 2009.
The future impact of the Olympics on real estate in Vancouver is unclear but it was good to see strong activity in a month many considered would bring the start of a cooling down period in Metro Vancouver real estate.
Some experts are quick to point out that the ratio of sales to listings in Metro Vancouver is on par with a balanced-market and that there was an inventory of 11,346 unsold homes last month. As we're almost into the second quarter of 2010 we're starting to see a rise on the number of homes listed and demand is tapering off. While there is still considerable interest in real estate, the demand for homes is not as high as in the end of 2009.
On the other hand, benchmark prices continue to rise, however moderately. In Metro Vancouver, the average price for a standard home sold reached $800,796 which represents a 1.5 per cent rise from January and an impressive 22.5 per cent increase from February 2009.
For townhouses, the benchmark price reached $495,496 last month while apartments rose to $490,899. That's a 16 per cent and 17 per cent jump respectively from a year ago. Clearly the market is doing well, whether this is balanced territory or not. The future of the market still appears to be more leveled than we saw in the closing of 2009 but real estate professionals continue to be surprised by the quick and impressive turnaround this market has seen in the past 12 months.
Not only are these impressive sales figures, but they also represent a 30 per cent jump in sales from January and an even more dramatic hike compared to the 1,480 sales recorded in February 2009.
The future impact of the Olympics on real estate in Vancouver is unclear but it was good to see strong activity in a month many considered would bring the start of a cooling down period in Metro Vancouver real estate.
Some experts are quick to point out that the ratio of sales to listings in Metro Vancouver is on par with a balanced-market and that there was an inventory of 11,346 unsold homes last month. As we're almost into the second quarter of 2010 we're starting to see a rise on the number of homes listed and demand is tapering off. While there is still considerable interest in real estate, the demand for homes is not as high as in the end of 2009.
On the other hand, benchmark prices continue to rise, however moderately. In Metro Vancouver, the average price for a standard home sold reached $800,796 which represents a 1.5 per cent rise from January and an impressive 22.5 per cent increase from February 2009.
For townhouses, the benchmark price reached $495,496 last month while apartments rose to $490,899. That's a 16 per cent and 17 per cent jump respectively from a year ago. Clearly the market is doing well, whether this is balanced territory or not. The future of the market still appears to be more leveled than we saw in the closing of 2009 but real estate professionals continue to be surprised by the quick and impressive turnaround this market has seen in the past 12 months.
posted by VancouverResidence
