Price of Metro condos surge; detached homes drop: Survey

Metro Vancouver condo prices surged in the third quarter, according to a new real estate price survey released Thursday.

Royal Lepage’s survey found the median price of a condominium rose by 17.6 per cent year-over-year to $622,392, while the cost of a two-storey detached home dropped by 1.1 per cent to $1,532,849 over the same period. The price of a bungalow, however, went up 3.5 per cent to $1,422,458.

The survey showed the biggest jump in condo prices in Metro Vancouver was in North Vancouver, with prices rising 25.2 per cent year-over-year to $614,173.

Following North Vancouver were Burnaby at 24.6 per cent to $561,558 and Coquitlam at 23.8 per cent to $471,749.

The Royal Lepage survey came the same day as the British Columbia Real Estate Association released monthly statistics that showed home sales and average prices rose in B.C. in September.

The BCREA figures showed 8,340 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service during the month, an increase of 9.9 per cent from the same period last year.

Total sales amounted to $5.8 billion, up 30.2 per cent from September 2016, and the average MLS residential price was $693,774, up 18.5 per cent.

The BCREA also said residential unit sales declined 13 per cent year-to-date to 81,608 units while the average price was down 0.2 per cent to $705,501.

Randy Ryalls, general manager of Royal LePage Sterling Realty, said the high price of detached homes and tighter mortgage restrictions has pushed buyers into the condo market. “Despite having already taken 30 to 40 per cent of entry-level buyers out of the marketplace entirely, the new mortgage regulations, and requisite stress tests, have helped to significantly drive condominium prices up,” said Ryalls.