Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market in February

 Even if we take into consideration the fact that February is the shortest month of the year, sales in the Greater Vancouver Area are still very slow, and February 2013 was the second lowest February total in the whole region since 2001. It was almost 31 per cent below the ten-year average sales for this month. According to the Multiple Listing Service®, last February's sales reached 1,797, which is still 29.4 per cent less than the 2,545 sales of February 2012, but 33 per cent more than the 1,351 sales in January 2013.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio improved by 2 per cent from January 2013 to 12.2 per cent. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time this ratio rose above 11 per cent since June 2012. According to Eugen Klein, president of Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), "Sales in February followed recent trends and were below seasonal averages, though our members tell us they saw more traffic at open houses last month compared to the previous six to eight months.“

He also adds, "With a two-point increase in our sales to active listings ratio and reduction in the average number of day it's taking to sell a home, February showed some bustle indications of a changing sentiment in the marketplace compared to recent months.“

The MLS recorded 4,833 new listings for detached, attached, and apartment homes in Greater Vancouver in February 2013. There was a 13 per cent drop compared to the 5,552 new listings in February 2012 and 5.8 per cent negative change from the 5,128 new units listed in January 2013.

The current number of listed residential properties for sale in Greater Vancouver is 14,789, which is a 5.2 per cent rise from the previous February and an 11.6 per cent increase from January 2013. Greater Vancouver saw a 5.6 per cent decline of the home price index composite benchmark price for all residential properties from May 2012. The present price is $590,400.

With 704 sales of detached homes, this sector went down by 36.1 per cent from the 1,101 units sold last February and by 49.8 per cent from the 1,402 units from February 2011. Last month's benchmark price for detached properties was $901,500. That is a 4.5 per cent decrease from February 2012 and a 6.8 per cent drop since the market peaked in May 2012.

Apartment sales reached 760 in February 2013 — a considerable 25.5 per cent plummet compared to the 1,020 sales in February 2012 and an even greater decline from the 1,206 condo units that found new owners in February 2011. Currently $360,400 is the benchmark price of this type of residence. This sector slid by 3 per cent from February 2012 and by 5.1 per cent from May 2012.

And last but not least, the sales of attached properties reached 333. This is a 21.5 per cent drop from the 424 sales of February 2012 and a 31.9 per cent decrease from the 489 sales in the same month in 2011. The benchmark price of February 2013, currently at $455,500, went down only slightly, by 0.7 per cent, compared to the previous February, and down by 6.5 per cent compared to the peak prices of May 2012.

It's no surprise that Vancouver real estate is in decline. If we look at the history and established trends, we can see that a Vancouver market correction is an inevitable outcome after a decade of expansive market activity.