Tuesday December 15th, 2009 - Greater Vancouver real estate prices end year on high note

Greater Vancouver is the hottest real estate market in Canada at the moment. After a slow start to 2009 when fears were stirred by the subprime mortgage disaster in the United States, the market has done a surprising turn around. It is expected that the area will end the year with an average property value of $600,000. This is almost double the national average of $325,000.

Vancouver is also number one amongst the 23 markets surveyed across Canada. Victoria came in second at $495,000 and Kelowna third at $438,700. Greater Toronto came in fourth at $415,000 and Calgary fifth at $403,000. Edmonton’s average of $330,000 per unit ranked the city sixth.

Low interest rates have surely played a role in the health of Vancouver’s real estate market but the diversity of housing options in the area is a big factor. There are many types of housing, from condos to townhouses to single family homes and rural lots on the outskirts of Greater Vancouver. These are available in a range of prices that attract many types of consumers.

Property sales for November 2009 were the third highest in volume on record for any November in the Greater Vancouver area. November 2009 showed an impressive 3,083 units sold. When compared to the 874 sales recorded for November 2008, this represents a 252.7 percent increase. October 2009 was even hotter, with 3,704 units sold in that month.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board was also recording impressive numbers. It was the second busiest November in the last 10 years. Though November is typically a slower period, November 2009 showed 1,522 sales. In November of 2008 the area only had 507 sales. This translates into a 200 percent increase and a much hotter and healthier real estate market.