Hello All,

Despite the beautiful sunny and warm weather we're still enjoying, summer has officially come to a close.  So, what happened in the real estate world?

Looking at a quick snapshot of some of the key indicators, we're seeing that both the East and West side of Vancouver finished out August as buyer's markets, bar East side apartments, which are just on the edge of a balanced market.  As is typical in the summer months, we saw less new inventory come into the market and the number of active listings go down as a result.  The number of sales was also down from previous months:

2012 has been a slower year overall for sales and August was no exception.  Bearing in mind that 2011 was quite a strong year for sales, here's how August 2012 sales stacked up against August 2011:
Vancouver Westside:
Detached: down 39.7%
Attached: down 29.8%
Apartments: down 26.0%

Vancouver Eastside:
Detached: down 46.6%
Attached: down 34.8%
Apartments: up 7.2% - the star of Vancouver sales, showing the only gain compared to 2011.

....and here's a look at the median sales prices of August 2012 vs August 2011:
Vancouver Westside:
Detached: down 7.6% @ $2,030,000
Attached: down 2.4% @ $916,250
Apartments: down 2.5% @ $495,500

Vancouver Eastside:
Detached: up 4.2% @ $867,500
Attached: up 20.0% @ $670,000
Apartments: down 13.1% @ $308,500

Now that we've moved into September, more listings are coming onto the market to kick off the Autumn season.  I believe the trend will continue and we'll continue to see slower sales for the remainder 2012 and most likely into 2013. 

Real estate is a cyclical market so despite sensationalistic headlines, this is to be expected every 7 to 8 years.  We've had a long run of 13 years in Vancouver in an up market.  With the current uncertainty of the global markets in Europe and China, it's not surprising our market is cooling.  The US real estate market is showing signs of recovery, but it's early days there too.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like more information, are thinking about jumping into the market or have questions about the current value of your own home or investment property.  And I'm never too busy for your referrals.

Kind regards,
Kim