Vancouver house prices continue to rise
VANCOUVER, Jan. 6 /CNW/ - Year-over-year, fourth-quarter 2010 house prices in Vancouver were up across the board according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today. The biggest gain came from single family homes on Vancouver's West Side.
Standard two-storey homes led the way, with average price gains across all neighbourhoods of 9.8 per cent over the same period last year, selling for a fourth quarter average of $1,007,500. Detached bungalows followed with year-over-year gains of 7.6 per cent, selling for a fourth quarter average of $891,500. Standard condominiums were close behind, selling for an average price of $484,500, a gain of 7 per cent.
While single family homes continued to dominate the market in terms of price gains, condos performed well across Metro Vancouver, particularly on the East Side.
"Condos are a big part of the Vancouver market because of the price point," said Bill Binnie, broker and owner of Royal LePage North Shore. "Condos are an investment vehicle, and many people downsize from single family homes to change their lifestyle. Plus, many new condos offer a 'bling' factor , such as granite counter tops, which is attractive to buyers." Eighty per cent of downtown properties sold in the fourth quarter were condos.
Vancouver buyers are being brought to the market by continued historically low interest rates and softening prices from the third quarter of 2010. Tight inventory and high prices in Vancouver's West Side are pushing up prices in the East Side, particularly for single family homes.
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