From Landcor Data Corporation:
Is the housing recession at last coming to an end? Even though property sales throughout British Columbia were at a 24-year low in Q1 2009, sales did pick up with each passing month indicating that the housing market is responding to typical seasonal increases according to a new report from Landcor Data Corporation.
We are pleased to issue the Q1 2009 Residential Sales Summary, a comprehensive report evaluating sales and price data for BC and all six key regions, comparing findings to Q4 2008 and Q1 2008.
"Our data confirms the market may be nearing the bottom given the strong upswing in residential sales province wide during the first quarter," says Landcor President, Rudy Nielsen. "Lower prices and financing rates may be starting to move more potential buyers off the fence and into the market."
Some Key Findings:
Q1 2009 property sales fell province-wide, with some regions being harder hit than others. In the Kootenays sales dropped 56%, in the Okanagan 55% and on Vancouver Island, 51% from Q1 2008.
Q1 2009 property prices also fell. The largest drop in the average sales price was 21.2% for an attached unit in the Fraser Valley region.
2 regions in BC bucked the trend of falling prices: the Kootenay region, where the condominium average sales price increased 25.7% from Q1 2008 followed by the North/Northwest where the condominium average sales price increased 18.1%.
When comparing month over month sales in Q1 2009, Greater Vancouver shows a steady increase with February and March posting increases over previous months.
"Based on this data, I think we're beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel," says Nielsen. "By the time we publish our Q2 2009 report, we'll know for certain whether it was just a Grizzly bear with a flashlight!"
