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Strong demand fuels vibrant June housing market

VANCOUVER, B.C. July 5, 2005 - Sales of attached homes in the Greater Vancouver area reached an all-time high in June with 708 sales. At the same time, detached home sales reached 1,851, the second highest number of sales in ten years.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that overall sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased by 23.6 per cent to 4,333 units sold in June 2005, compared to 3,505 sales in June 2004.

"To put it in perspective, these figures are the fourth highest sales in the Board's history," says REBGV President Georges Pahud. "There's significant activity in the "first-time buyers" market in areas such as New Westminster, Richmond and Coquitlam. First-time buyers are looking for choices that combine affordability, lifestyle, amenities and accessibility.

"The factors that positively affect the overall housing market are in place," Pahud says. "Consumer confidence is high and domestic activity continues to be the key driver of economic growth. Job creation, business and investment confidence, immigration and mortgage rates combined with demand to live in a thriving world-class city make for a strong real estate market."

According to Multiple Listings Service data, sales of apartment properties increased 18.3 per cent in June 2005 to 1,774 sales, compared to 1,500 sales in June 2004. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the Board's Housing Price Index, is $261,848, up 14.1 per cent from one year ago.

Sales of attached properties increased 27.3 per cent in June 2005 to 708 units sold, compared to 556 units in June 2004. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $332,987, up 10.6 per cent from June 2004.

Sales of detached properties totaled 1,851 an increase of 27.7 per cent compared to 1,449 sales in June 2004. The benchmark price of a detached home increased to $533,095 up 10.2 per cent from a year ago.

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2005 compared to June 2004:

Attached:
Burnaby	up 34.9% (116 units sold, up from 86)
Coquitlam	up 53.8% (60 units sold, up from 39)
North Vancouver	up 67.9% (47 units sold, up from 28)
Port Coquitlam	up 28.6% (45 units sold, up from 35)
Richmond	up 50.9% (163 units sold, up from 108)

Apartments:
Coquitlam	up 19.1% (106 units sold, up from 89)
Delta - South	up 47.4% (28 units sold, up from 19)
New Westminster	up 108.9% (165 units sold, up from 79)
Vancouver East	up 34.1% (236 units sold, up from 176)
Vancouver West	up 15.9% (592 units sold, up from 511)

Detached:
Burnaby	up 33.8% (174 units sold, up from 130)
Coquitlam	up 17.6% (167 units sold, up from 142)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows	up 19.9% (193 units sold, up from 161)
New Westminster	up 87% (58 units sold, up from 31)
North Vancouver	up 16.5% (134 units sold, up from 115)
Port Coquitlam	up 64% (82 units sold, up from 50)
Port Moody/Belcarra	up 52% (38 units sold, up from 25)
Richmond	up 68.7% (248 units sold, up from 147)
Sunshine Coast	up 30.5% (107 units sold, up from 82)
Vancouver East	up 24.7% (303 units sold, up from 243)
Vancouver West	up 20.1% (185 units sold, up from 154)

The Real Estate Industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2003, dollar volume sales of homes province-wide set a new record at more than $24 billion. Based on this figure, BC home sales in 2003 generated over $1.8 billion in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 7,600 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®, and works with industry affiliates to address issues that impact the real estate consumer.

^*In August 2004, the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley boards upgraded our existing MLS® systems to a common system called MLSLink. MLSLink® HPI is the latest version of the Board’s Housing Price Index (HPI) and is designed to accommodate the MLS® upgrade and improve the legacy HPI product. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, visit www.realtylink.org.

For more information please contact:

Eileen Day, Manager of Communications
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Phone: (604) 730-3028 Fax: (604) 730-3102
E-mail: eday@rebgv.org

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