All-time record set for Metro Vancouver home sales in 2015

Dec 20 2017, 3:28 am

A total of 42,326 residential properties were sold in Metro Vancouver throughout 2015, marking a 27.8 per cent increase from 2014 to make it an all-time record for historical sales.

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), there has been extraordinary growth with the number of sales over the last two years. The total number of sales increased from 33,116 in 2014 and 28,524 in 2013, and for the first time every there were more than 4,000 sales per month this year from the period beginning March and ending in June.

The agency has deemed the current local real estate market conditions as a “seller’s market” given that sales-to-active listing ratios were above 25 per cent for 11 months last year.

“Home buyers were active and motivated throughout 2015 despite the pressure on supply of homes on the market,” Darcy McLeod, president of REBGV, said in a statement. “Housing markets typically experience quieter periods within a calendar year, but that wasn’t the case in Metro Vancouver last year.”

McLeod adds that the high demand for properties caused home prices to soar, with prices increasing between 14 to 24 per cent in the year alone.

Properties are being quickly acquired by buyers upon entering the market: There are currently just over 6,000 properties for sale in Metro Vancouver, a 41.6 per cent decline compared to December 2014 and 25.6 per cent lower than November 2015.

The average home price for all residential properties in the region at the end of 2015 was $760,900, an increase of 18.9 per cent over the same period in 2014.

With the robust residential sales market, the demand for real estate agents has also risen. The number of students enrolled in UBC’s Sauder School of Business real estate licensing programs has risen from 2,835 in 2012 to 4,619 during the current school year.

 

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

+ News
ADVERTISEMENT