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Friday, March 1, 2002

Highest monthly home sales since April 1994

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that last month had the highest number of monthly sales since April 1994.

Sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased 69 per cent to 3,008 in February 2002 compared to 1,781 during the same period in 2001.

According to Multiple Listing Service data, sales of apartment properties increased 97 per cent, with a total of 1,023 units sold in February 2002 in comparison to 519 sales in February 2001. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the Board’s Housing Price Index, is $170, 970, up over seven per cent from one year ago.

“Factors such as affordability because of low interest rates, low rental vacancy rates, and limited inventory are creating pent-up demand that’s fuelling our current housing market,” said REBGV President Don Pearce.

Sales of detached properties increased 59 per cent to 1,541 in February 2002 from 972 in February 2001. The detached benchmark price is $373,110, an increase of almost six per cent in comparison to last year.

Sales of attached properties increased 53 per cent in February, with 444 sales compared with 290 sales in February 2001. The attached properties benchmark price is $236,260, an increase of seven per cent from the same period last year.

A number of bright spots were noted in Greater Vancouver communities in February 2002 compared to February 2001:

Detached:
Burnaby	up 43% (116 units sold from 81)
Coquitlam	up 84% (169 units sold from 92)
Delta South	up 84% (68 units sold from 37)
Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows	up 50% (147 units sold from 98)
New Westminster	up 73% (38 units sold from 22)
North Vancouver	up 41% (135 units sold from 96)
Port Moody	up 131% (30 units sold from 13)
Squamish	up 120% (22 units sold from 10)
Sunshine Coast	up 166% (72 units sold from 27)
Vancouver East	up 107% (282 units sold from 136)
Vancouver West	up 46% (158 units sold from 108)
West Vancouver	up 38% (87 units sold from 63)
Attached:
Burnaby	up 84% (59 units sold from 32)
Coquitlam	up 135% (47 units sold from 20)
Delta South	up 220% (16 units sold from 5)
Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows	up 42% (44 units sold from 31)
North Vancouver	up 96% (51 units sold from 26)
Port Moody / Belcarra	up 54% (20 units sold from 13)
Vancouver East	up 50% (30 units sold from 20)
Vancouver West	up 59% (54 units sold from 34)
Apartments:
Burnaby	up 76% (109 units sold from 62)
Coquitlam	up 91% (61 units sold from 32)
Delta South	up 213% (25 units sold from 8)
Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows	up 100% (22 units sold from 11)
New Westminster	up 50% (48 units sold from 32)
North Vancouver	up 161% (107 units sold from 41)
Port Coquitlam	up 45% (29 units sold from 20)
Richmond	up 97% (114 units sold from 58)
Vancouver East	up 63% (80 units sold from 49)
Vancouver West	up 106% (387 units sold from 188)

The REBGV is an association representing some 6,600 Greater Vancouver REALTORS®. It provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service, to effectively serve the real estate needs of the community. The REBGV cooperates with other industry affiliates by addressing issues that may impact the real estate consumer. For the most comprehensive source of real estate, statistics, home buying and selling information, 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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