VANCOUVER, B.C. – April 2, 2015 – Demand continued to rise across Metro Vancouver's housing market in March.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 4,060 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2015. This represents a 53.7 percent increase compared to the 2,641 sales recorded in March 2014, and a 32.6 percent increase compared to the 3,061 sales in February 2015.

Last month’s sales were 26.8 percent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

"We're seeing strong competition amongst home buyers today. This is leading to more multiple offer situations and some upward pressure on home prices,” Darcy McLeod, REBGV president said. “For sellers, this means that it's taking less time, on average, for your home to sell if you have it priced correctly for today's market."

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 5,968 in March. This represents a 13 percent increase compared to the 5,281 new listings reported in March 2014.

Last month’s new listing count was 4.7 percent higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the REBGV MLS® is 12,376, a 14.5 percent decline compared to March 2014 and a 4 percent increase compared to February 2015.

“The number of homes for sale today is below what’s typical for this time of year,” McLeod said. “If you’ve been considering putting your property on the market, these market conditions indicate that now may be a good time to list.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $660,700. This represents a 7.2 percent increase compared to March 2014.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio in March was 32.8 percent. This is the highest that this ratio has been in Metro Vancouver since July 2007.

Sales of detached properties in March 2015 reached 1,711, an increase of 53.3 percent from the 1,116 detached sales recorded in March 2014, and an 83.4 percent increase from the 933 units sold in March 2013. The benchmark price for a detached property in Metro Vancouver increased 11.2 percent from March 2014 to $1,052,800.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,627 in March 2015, an increase of 47.1 percent compared to the 1,106 sales in March 2014, and an increase of 65.7 percent compared to the 982 sales in March 2013. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.3 percent from March 2014 to $390,200.

Attached property sales in March 2015 totalled 722, an increase of 72.3 percent compared to the 419 sales in March 2014, and a 67.1 percent increase from the 432 attached properties sold in March 2013. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4.9 percent between March 2014 and 2015 to $484,900.

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