Housing sales continue to rise in November  (courtesy Realtylink.org)

Vancouver, B.C. December 4, 2007 – The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales reached 2,883 units in November 2007, an increase of 22.2 per cent compared to 2,358 sales in November 2006, and a 1.9 per cent decrease compared to the 2,938 units sold in November 2005.

Property listings increased 6.6 per cent compared to last year’s levels, with 3,377 active listings at November month-end, compared to 3,168 during the same period last year.

"The housing market continues to be strong," says REBGV president Brian Naphtali. "November figures show strong growth compared to last year, are basically on par with figures from 2005, and are 16 per cent higher than the same period in 2004.

"Affordability is a key question," Naphtali says. "Our data indicates that about 60 per cent of residential homes purchased in November were multi-family, which includes condos and townhomes. The benchmark price for a condo in Greater Vancouver is about $375,000. However, there are units available for considerably less than this price. For example, the benchmark for condos in Port Coquitlam in November was $243,624; in Maple Ridge, $254,703; and in Coquitlam, $283,830."

According to Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) data, sales of apartment properties increased by 21.5 per cent to 1,276 sales in November 2007 compared to 1,050 sales in November 2006. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is $374,393, up 13.6 per cent from one year ago.

Sales of attached properties increased by 33.7 per cent in November 2007 to 540 sales, compared to 404 sales in November 2006. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $455,332, up 11 per cent from a year ago.

Sales of detached properties increased by 18 per cent in November 2007 to 1,067 sales, compared to 904 sales in November 2006. The benchmark price of a detached unit is $729,011, up 12.6 per cent from last year.

Detached:
Burnaby up 47.4% (115 units sold, up from 78)
Coquitlam up 21.1% (92 units sold, up from 76)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 12.1% (111 units sold, up from 99)
North Vancouver up 24.3% (87 units sold, up from 70)
Port Coquitlam up 30.6%(47 units sold, up from 36)
Richmond up 17.4% (108 units sold, up from 92)
Squamish up 75% (28 units sold, up from 16)
Sunshine Coast up 30.2% (56 units sold, up from 43)
Vancouver East up 20% (150 units sold, up from 125)
Attached:
Burnaby up 16.9% (76 units sold, up from 65)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 32.4% (49 units sold, up from 37)
New Westminster up 128.6% (16 units sold, up from 7)
Port Coquitlamup 45.8% (35 units sold, up from 24)
Richmond up 94.5% (107 units sold, up from 55)
Squamish up 107.7% (27 units sold, up from 13)
Whistler/Pemberton up 110% (21 units sold, up from 10)
Apartments:
Burnaby up 11.1% (160 units sold, up from 144)
Coquitlamup 40.4% (73 units sold, up from 52)
North Vancouver up 39.4% (99 units sold, up from 71)
Port Moody/Belcarra up 227.3% (36 units sold, up from 11)
Richmondup 23.3% (159 units sold, up from 129)
Squamish up 125% (18 units sold, up from 8)
Vancouver West up 29.3% (433 units sold, up from 335)