News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Housing market moderates for spring-time buyers
VANCOUVER, B.C. – April 2, 2008 – The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that while
there were fewer housing sales in March 2008 compared to last year, residential prices continued to climb.
Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,997 in March 2008, a decline of 16.3 per cent from
the 3,582 residential sales recorded in March 2007, and a decline of 25.7 per cent compared to the 4,033 sales
in March 2006. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased four per cent to 5,674 in
March 2008 compared with March 2007, when 5,456 new units were listed.
“The market is continuing to balance, with sales and listings beginning to re-align with our 10-year averages,”
says REBGV president, Dave Watt. “The selection of inventory hitting the market is wider than we have seen in
the past few years, which gives prospective buyers more choices.”
Sales of detached properties declined 20.2 per cent to 1,116 from the 1,399 detached sales recorded during the
same period in 2007. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached
properties rose 12.1 per cent from March 2007 to $764,616.
Sales of apartment properties in March 2008 declined 10.6 per cent to 1,370, compared to 1,532 sales in March
2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 11.5 per cent from March 2007 to $389,609.
Attached property sales in March 2008 are down 21.5 per cent to 511, compared with the 651 sales in March
2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 10.6 per cent between March 2007 and 2008 to
$473,543.
Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in March 2008 compared to March 2007:
Attached:
New Westminster............................up 142.9 per cent (17 units sold up from 7)
Apartments:
Port Moody/Belcarra......................up 31.6 per cent (50 units sold up from 38)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows............up 48.5 per cent (49 units sold up from 33)
Complete Report available at www.davidvalente.com (Market Stats / Blog)
The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2007, 38,050 homes changed hands in the Board’s area
generating $1.065 billion in spin-offs. Total dollar volume of residential sales set a new record at $22.25 billion and total dollar volume
of all sales set a record at $22.77 billion. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than
9,500 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For
more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.realtylink.org.
*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.