Home sales have dropped significantly in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and around the region.
According to statistics of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, released on June 4, the sales of townhouses and apartments are down 36 per cent in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows through March, April and May of 2018 compared with the same three-month period last year.
Sales of attached units and apartments are down from 499 units to 321.
Sales of detached houses in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are down 23 per cent in the same period, from 446 units in 2017, to 342 this year.
The drop is even greater across the entire region. The real estate board says residential property sales in the region totalled 2,833 in May 2018, which was a 35.1 per cent decrease from the 4,364 sales recorded in May 2017.
Last month’s sales were 19.3 per cent below the 10-year May sales average.
“With fewer homes selling today compared to recent years, the number of homes available for sale is rising,” said Phil Moore, board president.
“The selection of homes for sale in Metro Vancouver has risen to the highest levels we’ve seen in the last two years, yet supply is still below our long-term historical averages.”
In Maple Ridge, the benchmark price for all residential property types – houses, townhomes and apartments – is $748,000. That is an increase of 21 per cent over one year, and 79 per cent over three years.
In Pitt Meadows, the benchmark is $754,000, which is up 25 per cent in one year, and 77 per cent over three.
The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is $1,094,000 – an 11.5 per cent increase over May 2017.
Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and the Sunshine Coast are the only communities in Greater Vancouver where houses can be purchased for less than a $1 million benchmark price. The benchmark price of a Maple Ridge single family detached home is $876,000, and Pitt Meadows $950,000.
By comparison, the highest is West Vancouver at $3.4 million, and the benchmark for all of Greater Vancouver is $1.6 million.
There were 6,375 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service in Metro in May 2018.
This represents a 5.5 per cent increase compared to the 6,044 homes listed in May 2017 and a 9.5 per cent increase compared to April 2018 when 5,820 homes were listed.
The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS system in Metro Vancouver is 11,292, a 38.2 per cent increase compared to May 2017 (8,168) and a 15 per cent increase compared to April 2018 (9,822).
The total number of listings available today is 17.2 per cent below the 10-year May average.
The areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and South Delta.
The real estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2017, 35,993 homes changed ownership in the board’s area, generating $2.4 billion in economic spin-off activity and an estimated 17,600 jobs, according to board statistics.
The total dollar value of residential sales transacted through the MLS system in Greater Vancouver totalled $37 billion in 2017.
