December 2007 real estate news from Vancouver

Vancouver for Homes Monthly Newsletter

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December 2007

IMMIGRATION AND REAL ESTATE

This month Stats Canada issued some data from the 2006 census that is of relevance to the real estate market in Vancouver. There is a lot of talk about affordability in the real estate market, especially given the continuing increase in housing costs. So the question is often asked: “how can prices keep going up?”

One factor is immigration. There were 177,800 foreign born immigrants to Metro Vancouver in the 5 years up until 2006. Even if not all of them buy homes, there is still a significant demand from new immigrants. [These figures do not include Canadian born inter-Provincial migration]

Vancouver is one of the top three destinations for immigrants (along with Montreal and Toronto). Within Metro Vancouver, the top destinations are:

Vancouver City (24.4%)
Surrey (16.4%)
Burnaby (12.2%)
Richmond (10.5%)
North Shore - North and West Vancouver (5.5%)
Coquitlam (5.0%)
Abbotsford (2.9%)
New Westminster (2.3%)
Delta (2.0%)
Langley (1.3%)

Percentages in brackets represent the percentage of immigrants to BC who settled in each municipality over the period 2001-2006.

Immigration levels are not likely to fall as long as our economy remains strong. The real estate market itself will need to support these new Canadians.

REAL ESTATE MARKET

NOVEMBER - HOUSING SALES STILL RISING

November in the Metro Vancouver area saw an increase of 22.2% in residential sales over the same period last year. Listings were also somewhat up at 6.6% over last year. These may not be records but it is still a sign of a healthy market.

Affordability is an issue that we do face and the fact that 60% of sales in November were for multi family homes (townhouses and apartments) is a symptom of this. Most people do prefer a detached house.

This month I have also looked somewhat wider afield, with statistics from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. This is not our home patch and we have good partners in these areas. They tell us that the market there has softened, but the high cost of housing in Metro Vancouver is driving people further out, so it seems unlikely that the Fraser Valley’s real estate market will slow significantly.

METRO VANCOUVER BENCHMARK

The Vancouver Real Estate Board publishes a benchmark that tracks the price of a benchmark property across the region. There are three categories:

Detached
These are houses, sometimes called single family homes
Attached
This refers to townhouses and half duplexes.
Apartments
This means apartments within high or low rise buildings.

I have set out the benchmark prices across the region, with the annual percentage price rises.

DETACHED BENCHMARK PRICES

Detached Greater Vancouver $729,011 (12.6%)
Burnaby $736,983 (14.7%)
Coquitlam $626,427 (7.4%)
South Delta $618,353 (7.9%)
Maple Ridge $453,511 (7.5%)
New Westminster $552,041 (7.4%)
North Vancouver $868,422 (11.3%)
Pitt Meadows $481,471 (12.4%)
Port Coquitlam $528,706 (10.4%)
Port Moody $685,459 (7.1%)
Richmond $717,037 (12.6%)
Squamish $544,312 (22.7%)
Sunshine Coast $394,333 (2.5%)
Vancouver East $670,740 (13.7%)
Vancouver West $1369,693 (23.1%)
West Vancouver $1407,186 (17.1%)

ATTACHED BENCHMARK PRICES

Attached Greater Vancouver $455,332 (11%)
Burnaby $440,008 (10.7%)
Coquitlam $416,765 (10.5%)
South Delta $438,058 (14%)
Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows $310,636 (9.1%)
North Vancouver $560,969 (9.3%)
Port Coquitlam $378,389 (9.5%)
Port Moody $398,473 (14.2%)
Richmond $438,572 (9.1%)
Vancouver East $512,971 (18.6%)
Vancouver West $703,964 (13%)

APARTMENT BENCHMARK PRICES

Apartment Greater Vancouver $374,393 (13.6%)
Burnaby $335,036 (14.4%)
Coquitlam $283,830 (11.3%)
South Delta $324,197 (8.9%)
Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows $254,703 (10.4%)
New Westminster $292,902 (16.1%)
North Vancouver $378,694 (11.4%)
Port Coquitlam $243,624 (9.8%)
Port Moody $303,412 (8.2%)
Richmond $307,207 (13.5%)
Vancouver East $317,906 (15.4%)
Vancouver West $479,101 (13.9%)
West Vancouver $669,768 (19.5%)

FRASER VALLEY

Last month I was asked for prices in the Fraser Valley. These statistics come from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and hence are in somewhat different basis. There is no benchmark price, but there are median prices for each property type, and the percentage change over last year.

DETACHED: MEDIAN PRICES

N.Delta $489,900 (11.1%)
Surrey $515,000 (5.1%)
W.Rock $650,000 (-1.4%)
Langley $514,900 (2.7%)
Abbotsford $402,500 (7.3%)
Mission $379,000 (8.3%)
All Areas $479,500 (6.6%)

TOWNHOUSES: MEDIAN PRICES

N.Delta $264,000 (2.1%)
Surrey $330,000 (10.7%)
W.Rock $415,000 (1.2%)
Langley $324,900 (13%)
Abbotsford $242,900 (-3.6%)
Mission $272,000 (11.7%)
All Areas $325,000 (10.2%)

APARTMENTS: MEDIAN PRICES

N.Delta $132,000 (6.8%)
Surrey $204,000 (8.5%)
W.Rock $272,000 (14%)
Langley $217,000 (0.9%)
Abbotsford $189,400 (14.8%)
Mission $173,000 (-13.3%)
All Areas $210,000 (7.7%)

TIME TO BUY OR SELL

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