Citynow Inventory shortage helps drive Burnaby home-price rise

LaurenVanderdeen lvanderdeen@burnabynow com

Home prices continue to rise month-over-month in MetroVancouver, and Burnaby is no exception.

Detached homes and apartment prices have ris- en across the city, according to a new report by the Real Estate Board of GreaterVancouver (REBGV)

“Despite elevated borrowing costs, there continues to be too little resale in- ventory available relative to the pool of buyers in MetroVancouver,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics, in a news release.

“This is the fundamental reason we continue to see prices increase month over month across all segments.”

In Burnaby, the estimated price of a typical property (called the benchmark price), ranged from about $1 03 million in North

Burnaby to $1 19 million in East Burnaby South Burnaby saw a benchmark price of $1 12 million last month across all property types.

It’s a one-month increase of between 6 4 per cent (South Burnaby) to 9.1 per cent (East Burnaby) over the last six months

But in the last year, prices have dropped ever so slightly; Burnaby North saw its benchmark of all residential types drop 3.7 per cent from a year ago – but it’s still up 26 8 per cent from three years ago.

And townhome prices in East Burnaby fell slightly, with a benchmark of $863,500 (down 1.3 per cent this month, but up 27 1 per cent from three years ago).

The REBGV is calling on the provincial government to adjust the threshold for the first-time homebuyers’ exemption from the property transfer tax.

The REBGV noted the benchmark price for apartments in the region is now $767,000 while the current threshold for the firsttime buyers’ tax exemption is $525,000.

“This is a simple policy adjustment that could help more first-time buyers afford a home right now,” Lis said

In Burnaby last month, there were 65 detached homes sold (median selling price: $2 million), 67 attached homes (median price: $990,000), and 258 apartments sold (median price: $738,000), according to the REBGV data.