Single-family unit sales last
month were up 47 per cent from February 2009 and up 28 per
cent from the previous month on a Board wide basis. The
average sale price meanwhile is 11 per cent above February
2009 according
to Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) sales summary data
released by the Vancouver Island Real Estate
Board (VIREB) for February 2010. There were 289 single-family
unit sales across the VIREB region in February
2010.
VIREB
President Cliff Moberg said, “We continue to remain busy, and
are slowly starting to see our inventory levels recede. I am
very happy with the direction the market is heading.”
Jim
Stewart, VIREB’s President Elect said that, “The market is
much stronger than a year ago, homes priced well are selling
in a reasonable length of time. I am cautiously optimistic
moving forward.”
The
average sale price across the VIREB region for February 2010
was $$342,047 up 11 per cent from the $307,919 posted in
February 2009, but very close to the January 2010 average
price of $339,327.
For
the period comparing data from the end of February 2009 to the
end of February 2010, average sale prices in VIREB's six zones
saw: Campbell River increase seven per cent (to $282,235), the
Comox Valley decreased 4 per cent (to $341,003), the Cowichan
Valley was up 14 per cent (to $359,169), Nanaimo also
increased 14 per cent (to $370,747), Parksville/Qualicum was
up 12 per cent (to $388,339), and Port Alberni slipped two per
cent (to $194,040).
There
were 11 per cent more single-family residential properties put
on the market in February 2010 compared to 12 months earlier,
but overall there are 14 per cent fewer homes for sale now
than a year ago.
Consumers
should check with their local REALTORS® for specific
neighbourhood price information.
VIREB
represents approximately 1,070 licensed REALTOR® members in
more than 84 member offices on Vancouver Island (north of
Victoria).
VIREB
cautions that average price information can be useful in
establishing trends over time, but does not indicate the
actual prices in centers comprised of widely divergent
neighbourhoods or account for price differential between
geographic areas.
