It shouldn't come as a surprise but January was a slow month.

Don't get me wrong, as in every market, people were buying and selling.

And some areas were more active than others.

 

Home buyer demand remains below historical averages in the Greater

Vancouver housing market. This has led some home sellers to remove

their homes from the market in recent months.

 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that

residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,351 on the

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2013. This represents a

14.3 per cent decrease compared to the 1,577 sales recorded in January

2012, and an 18.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,142 sales in

December 2012.

 

Last month’s sales were the second lowest January total in the

region since 2001 and 18.7 per cent below the 10-year sales average

for the month.

 

“Home sale activity has been below historical averages in Greater

Vancouver for about seven months. This has caused a gradual decline in

home prices of about 6 per cent since reaching a peak last spring”

Eugene Klein, REBGV president said.

 

Since reaching a peak in May of $625,100, the MLS® Home Price Index

composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater

Vancouver has declined 5.9 per cent to $588,100. This represents a 2.8

per cent decline compared to this time last year.

 

“It appears many home sellers are opting to remove their homes from

the market rather than settle for a price they don’t want” Klein said.

 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in

Greater Vancouver totalled 5,128 in January. This represents a 10.9

per cent decline compared to the 5,756 new listings reported in

January 2012. Last month’s new listing count was 18.9 per cent

higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

 

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the

Greater Vancouver MLS® is 13,246, a 5.6 per cent increase compared to

January 2012 and a 4.5 per cent decline compared to December 2012.

This is the fourth consecutive month that overall home listings have

declined in the region.

 

“When a home seller isn’t receiving the kind of offers they want,

there comes a point when they decide to either lower the price or

remove the home from the market. Right now, it seems many home sellers

are opting for the latter” Klein said.

 

With the sales-to-active-listings ratio at 10.2 per cent, the region

remains in buyers market territory. Since June, this ratio has

ranged between 8 and 11 per cent.

 

Sales of detached properties in January 2013 reached 542, a decrease

of 17.8 per cent from the 659 detached sales recorded in January 2012,

and a 31.7 per cent decrease from the 793 units sold in January 2011.

The benchmark price for detached properties decreased 3.1 per cent

from January 2012 to $901,000. Since reaching a peak in May 2012, the

benchmark price of a detached property has declined 6.9 per cent.

 

Sales of apartment properties reached 576 in January 2013, a decline

of 12.3 per cent compared to the 657 sales in January 2012, and a

decrease of 19.2 per cent compared to the 713 sales in January 2011.

The benchmark price of an apartment property decreased 2.9 per cent

from January 2012 to $358,400. Since reaching a peak in May 2012, the

benchmark price of an apartment property has declined 5.6 per cent.

 

Attached property sales in January 2013 totalled 233, a decline of

10.7 per cent compared to the 261 sales in January 2012, and a 25.6

per cent decrease from the 313 attached properties sold in January

2011. The benchmark price of an attached unit decreased 1.7 per cent

between January 2012 and 2013 to $449,900. Since reaching a peak in

April 2012, the benchmark price of an attached property has declined

7.7 per cent.

 

The right time to buy or sell is when you are ready.

If you are ready, I'm ready to help.