I hope everyone enjoyed the (finally) fabulous weather we saw in August. I was off on a little European adventure to end the summer, but am back in the swing of things now feeling fully re-charged!
Taking a peek back at the numbers from August, you will notice that we have added another statistic to our charts: Median Sale Price. This was done to help avoid the sometimes dramatic spikes and drops that we would see due to the odd ultra luxury property that would completely skew the numbers, particularly in the Vancouver Westside and Downtown regions. The median price point is a more accurate reflection of where the true middle of a market is, though we will continue to show the average price as well as this is the number most often referred to in the media. If you have any questions on the differences, please don't hesitate to ask.
On to the trends...
(1) Not at all surprisingly, sales numbers plunged in August as is typical at the end of the Summer. Interestingly enough, sales activity as a whole was up 8% over August of last year.
(2) Active listings rose marginally in the Vancouver Westside and Eastside areas, while dipping slightly in North Vancouver and Downtown. Across the board, the changes here were not what I would consider significant. It will be interesting to see what happens with inventory over the next few weeks as September is typically a busy listing month.
(3) Using the 'new' Average Median Sale Price, we see minimal price drops in Vancouver Eastside, North Vancouver and Downtown. Vancouver Westside attached dipped slightly as well, while the Vancouver Westside detached market was the only area that show prices increases, effectively negating the price drops we had seen there last month.
Even with all the global economic stories of woe out there, the market here appears stable and healthy. September is historically a busier time in the Vancouver market and the general buzz around here suggests that this year will be no different.
