Home sellers push real estate markets into balance
Posted: Aug 03 2011 Topic:
Lower Mainland home sellers in July continued to put properties on the market at a pace that helped keep the region’s real estate markets in better balance, the local real estate board has reported.
The region saw 2,571 property sales through the Multiple Listing Service in July, a 14-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago, but that was compared with 5,097 new listings put up for sale, which was up 23 per cent compared with July 2010.
Metro Vancouver’s total inventory of listings stood at 15,226 in July, which was 7.3 per cent below the pool of home for sales at the same point of last year.
And the benchmark price for detached homes, an average of typical homes sold in July, hit $898,886 in July, 9.2 per cent above the benchmark of July 2010, but down slightly from June’s benchmark of $901,680.
“We’re seeing less multiple offer situations in the market today compared to the last few months, but our members tell us that homes priced competitively continue to sell at a relatively swift pace,” Rosario Setticasi, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said in a news release.
The Fraser Valley was also more active on the sellers side in July, the region’s board reported, with 1,322 MLS sales compared with 2,951 new listings.
July’s sales represented a 20-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago, but the rise in listings was almost 25 per cent.
“Last month, we were busier listing rather than selling properties, which is good news for prospective buyers,” Sukh Sidhu, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said in a news release.
And across the Fraser Valley the benchmark price for a detached home hit $534,042 in July, up 4.6 per cent from the same month a year ago.