Bigpacific's Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast real estate market activity for July 2011

The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board (REBGV) just published its monthly report on market activity in our area. The long and short of the article is that the market remains “balanced” between buyers and sellers.

Real Estate Board of Vancouver publishes the most recent market statistics including those for the BC Sunshine Coast. There is talk of a balanced market being good for buyers and sellers.

The Real Estate Board publishes a packet of market data at the beginning of each month. Today, the information for July 2011 came out, the results show that we are in a balanced real estate market.

The board reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reached 2,571 in July, compared to the 2,255 sales in July 2010 and 3,262 sales in June 2011. There are less multiple offer situations in the market today compared to the last few months, but homes priced competitively continue to sell at a relatively swift pace.

One indicator of market activity is the time it takes for a property to sell. That's why we measure the average time for a property between going on the market and achieving a sale.

AVERAGE MARKET TIME

It’s taking, on average, 41 days to sell a property in the region, which is unchanged from June of this year. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totaled 5,097 in July. This represents a 23.2 per cent increase compared to July 2010 when 4,138 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and a 12 per cent decline compared to the 5,793 new listings reported in June 2011.

At 15,226, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 0.8 per cent in July compared to last month and declined 7.3 per cent from this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 9.2 per cent to $630,251 in July 2011 from $577,074 in July 2010.

One of the most striking market differences between Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast is the phenomenal price discepancy. A short distance and a bit of water makes a world of difference!

SUNSHINE COAST STATS

The general level of market activity for the Greater Vancouver area also holds true for the “Lower” Sunshine Coast market. We recorded 48 sales of detached homes during the month of July 2011 – which is exactly in between the numbers for the month prior (June 2011) and last year (same month July 2010). Interestingly, the same applies to the median selling prices in July 2011: those were also exactly in between the numbers for the month prior (June 2011) and last year (same month 2010). Looking at it this way, the Sunshine Coast sales numbers are keeping right in line with numbers throughout the region.

Looking at some median selling prices throughout the region:

- Burnaby $875,500

- Coquitlam $698,000

- Delta – South $709,500

- Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows $500,000

- New Westminster $657,000

- North Vancouver $905,500

- Port Coquitlam $570,000

- Richmond $945,000

- Sunshine Coast $401,000

- Vancouver East $848,500

- Vancouver West $2,037,500

- West Vancouver/Howe Sound $1,865,00

New listing activity (both in Vancouver and on the Sunshine Coast) has been about average. This is another indicator of relative market stability.

NEW LISTINGS

It’s also useful to look at the number of new listings taken during the month of July 2011. These numbers are 112 for single family homes, 8 for attached homes and 15 for apartment-style properties. Please note that some “new” listings aren’t actually new to the market but were relisted as a “new” listing, although they were listed before but did not sell (expired).

Right now, there are for sale on the Sunshine Coast through the MLS system:

- Single family homes 654

- Attached homes 59

- Apartment style properties 50

- Vacant land parcels 397