The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that benchmark prices for the month of April have increased over last year’s price levels for all Greater Vancouver property types. These increases coincide with a steady rise in mortgage rates, as quoted by financial institutions.

"It’s clear that the longer a person takes to buy a home during periods of rising mortgage rates, the higher the purchase costs in the long run," said Bill Phillips, REBGV president. "Since, even the slightest increase in interest rates can significantly impact mortgage payments, homebuyers should take advantage of the pre-approval process, which can save them money if rates rise further," added Phillips.

According to the Board’s Housing Price Index (HPI), the benchmark price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver is $344,950, up 3.2 per cent from one year ago. Detached home sales in April were recorded at 986 units, down 13.5 per cent from a year ago.

In the attached category, the benchmark price is currently $222,730, revealing a 2.8 per cent increase compared to one year ago. Year over year attached property sales were down 22.2 per cent as 266 units changed hands last month compared with 342 in 1999.

Prices of apartments continued their upward trend in April. The benchmark price of $164,530 is 2.1 per cent higher than one year ago. The number of apartments sold in April was 471 units, reflecting a 11.8 per cent decrease from last year’s sales of 534 units.

Overall units sold in April totalled 1,723 units. Although this one-year change is a decline of 14.6 per cent, the following bright spots were recorded in Greater Vancouver communities during the same period:

DETACHED:

Burnaby (East) up 55% (14 units sold from 9)

New Westminster up 14% (31 units sold from 27)

Sunshine Coast up 20% (42 units sold from 35)

ATTACHED:

Port Coquitlam up 53% (20 units sold from 13)

APARTMENTS:

Burnaby (South) up 32% (33 units sold from 25)

Maple Ridge up 25% (15 units sold from 12)