Regional real estate is bouncing back, after numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver show a 45-per-cent increase in home sales in February 2020, compared to the same month a year ago.
Home sales in Metro Vancouver totalled 2,150 last February, compared to 1,484, a year ago.
“Home buyer demand again saw strong year-over-year increases in February while the total inventory of homes for sale struggled to keep pace,” said board president Ashley Smith in a news release. “This was most pronounced in the condominium market.”
Still, February’s home sales were 16 per cent below the 10-year average for February, said the board.
Read more: Signs of recovery in real estate industry
And while sales have increased, the supply has dropped, leading to what seems to be the resumption of a hot real estate market.
This February 2020, there are 21 per cent fewer homes on the market in Metro Vancouver, compared to a year ago.
Wayne Lyle, sales and marketing director for Highpointe, a condo project just starting construction in downtown Maple Ridge, said that the housing market seems to be tightening. He’s sold 60 units so far since the project went to market in December.
Read more: Metro real estate sales rebound in second half of year
The benchmark price for a single family home in Metro Vancouver is $1.4 million, while a condo is now $677,000.
The benchmark price for a condo in Maple Ridge in February 2020, is $355,900, (75-per-cent higher than a decade ago) and in Pitt Meadows, it’s $494,300. The Maple Ridge condo prices is also 3.9 per cent higher than the previous January.
The benchmark price for a townhouse in Maple Ridge in February 2020, is $523,900, and in Pitt Meadows, it’s $613,100.
“Our realtors are reporting increased traffic at open houses and multiple-offer scenarios in certain pockets of the market,” said Smith.
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