News: Vancouver Real Estate Market

The average price of homes sold in B.C. is forecast to fall 7.8 per cent this year, but that doesn’t mean
the price of a typical home will drop, the B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist Cameron Muir
said Thursday.

The average Multiple Listings Service price is down and will continue to fall because fewer single-family
homes in tony neighbourhoods are selling, while more less-expensive homes are selling, Muir said,
adding that there has been a noticeable lull in demand...

The average price of homes sold in B.C. is forecast to fall 7.8 per cent this year, but that doesn’t mean
the price of a typical home will drop, the B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist Cameron Muir
said Thursday.

The average Multiple Listings Service price is down and will continue to fall because fewer single-family
homes in tony neighbourhoods are selling, while more less-expensive homes are selling, Muir said,
adding that there has been a noticeable lull in demand...

   For the complete news release, including detailed statistics, click: here.

Vancouver, BC – August 28, 2012. The BCREA Commercial Leading Indicator (CLI) continued to trend higher in the second quarter of 2012, rising 0.8 points to 112.6 from a revised level of 111.8 in the first quarter.  On a year-over-year basis, the CLI is now 3.7 per cent above its level in the second quarter of 2011.

"The trend in the CLI continues to signal strong growth in the BC commercial...

RBC Royal Bank raised two of its mortgage rates by one-fifth of a point each on Tuesday, and it’s likely
other lenders will soon follow suit, an economist told The Sun.

Helmut Pastrick, chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union, said bond yields have gone up by about 0.3
per cent in the past four weeks, and that is probably driving the increase.

“Sentiment has improved with respect to Europe and the economic outlook,” Pastrick said. “The
economic news was quite...

Buying a first home is one of life’s most significant purchases, and a new poll shows many first-time homebuyers wish they had done things differently.

More than half of those who were asked said they would make a bigger down payment and that they would buy a home sooner, the 2012 TD Canada Trust First Time Home Buyers Report found.

“The survey results reveal that people generally want the best of both worlds, to be able to buy a home sooner and to have a bigger down payment,...

Metro Vancouver home prices may slip a bit over the next year, but don’t expect them to drop sharply, according to a
report released Wednesday by Central 1 Credit Union.

The report was released on the same day as a Scotiabank report with a more pessimistic outlook for prices, saying the
downside risks to Canada’s housing market are increasing with a correction concentrated in Toronto and Vancouver, and

that prices should fall 10 per cent over the next two or three years.

 ...

   Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver remained at a 10-year low in July, while the number of properties being listed for sale continued to edge down and prices remained relatively stable.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that there were 2,098 residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in July. That’s an 18.4 per cent decline compared to the 2,571 sales in July 2011 and an 11.2 per cent decline compared to...