Market Conditions Drive Strong June Housing Sales!

VANCOUVER, B.C. – July 3, 2009 – The combination of low interest rates and more affordable pricing helped propel Greater Vancouver home sale numbers to the second all-time highest total for the month of June.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.9 per cent to 5,372 in June 2009 compared to June 2008, when 6,546 new units were listed. However, new listings increased 13.5 per cent from May to June of this year. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,252, down 27 per cent from June 2008 and 2.9 per cent below the active listings count at the end of May 2009.

“Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability, which is causing the number of sales to rise to levels comparable to 2003 to 2007,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.
 
“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” Russell said. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.”

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2009 compared to June 2008:

Detached

• Burnaby up 109.7 per cent (151 units sold from 72)
• Coquitlam up 122.2 per cent (160 units sold from 72)
• Delta - South up 107.7 per cent (56 units sold from 27)
• Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 54.3 per cent (162 units sold from 105)
• New Westminster up 104.8 per cent (43 units sold from 21)
• North Vancouver up 96.2 per cent (153 units sold from 78)
• Port Moody/ Belcarra up 120 per cent (33 units sold from 15)
• Richmond up 77.4 per cent (204 units sold from 115)
• Squamish up 107.7 per cent (27 units sold from 13)
• Sunshine Coast up 33.9 per cent (75 units sold from 56)
• Vancouver East up 71.2 per cent (238 units sold from 139)
• Vancouver West up 85.2 per cent (200 units sold from 108)
• West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 117.8 per cent (98 units sold from 45)

Attached

• Burnaby up 81.8 per cent (140 units sold from 77)
• Coquitlam up 80 per cent (54 units sold from 30)
• Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 48.6 per cent (55 units sold from 37)
• North Vancouver up 121.2 per cent (73 units sold from 33)
• Port Coquitlam up 82.6 per cent (42 units sold from 23)
• Port Moody/ Belcarra up 77.3 per cent (39 units sold from 22)
• Richmond up 84.5 per cent (155 units sold from 84)
• Vancouver East up 118.5 per cent (59 units sold from 27)
• Vancouver West up 121.8 per cent (122 units sold from 55)

Apartments

• Burnaby up 60.4 per cent (239 units sold from 149)
• Coquitlam up 93.9 per cent (95 units sold from 49)
• New Westminster up 57.1 per cent (121 units sold from 77)
• North Vancouver up 71.4 per cent (120 units sold from 70)
• Port Coquitlam up 58.1 per cent (49 units sold from 31)
• Port Moody/Belcarra up 128.6 per cent (48 units sold from 21)
• Richmond up 54.1 per cent (225 units sold from 146)
• Vancouver East up 58.7 per cent (165 units sold from 104)
• Vancouver West up 87.2 per cent (627 units sold from 335)
• West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 155.6 per cent (23 units sold from 9)

British Columbia

You qualify for the exemption if:

• You’re a Canadian Citizen, or a permanent resident as determined by Immigration Canada,
• You’ve lived in British Columbia for 12 consecutive months immediately before the date you register the property, or you have filed 2 income tax returns as a British Columbia resident during the 6 years before the date you register the property.
• You’ve never owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world at anytime, and
• You have never received a first time home buyers’ exemption or refund.

Property

The property you purchase qualifies if:

• The fair market value of the property is not more than the current threshold of $425,000.
• The land is 0.5 hectares (1.24 acres) or smaller, and
• The property will only be used as your principal residence.

If the property does not meet all of these requirements, you may still qualify for a partial exemption.

You apply for the exemption when you register the property at the Land Title office. Generally, a lawyer or notary public registers the property and applies for the exemption on your behalf.

• You need to occupy the property within 92 days of the date you register the property and continue to use the property as your principal residence for at least 1 year after you register the property.
• If the land is vacant when you purchase the property, a principal residence needs to be built on the property within 1 year of the registration date, and you need to reside on the property for the remainder of that year. The fair market value of the land, plus the cost of building any improvements on the land cannot exceed the current threshold of $425,000.
• The ministry will send you a letter at the end of the first year you own the property. If your property purchase was registered on, or after, February 20, 2008, the letter will ask you to confirm that the property is still your principal residence. If your property purchase was registered before February 20, 2008, the letter will ask for details of your financial account(s) that you have registered against your property from the date of registration until February 20, 2008.
• If your property purchase was registered before February 20, 2008, and you paid down your mortgage before February 20, 2008, there are limitations on how much of your financing you can pay down.
• You may still qualify for a partial exemption if you pay down your financing more than the limitation amount before February 20, 2008, or if you move off the property before the end of the first year.
• It is your responsibility to make sure the ministry receives all of the necessary information. If the ministry does not receive the information, you will be assessed for the property transfer tax due.

For details on the program, please see Bulletin PTT 004, First Time Home Buyers’ Program available at www.gov.bc.ca/sbr.