Vancouver Island Real Estate Board 2009 Buyer Profile

Posted: Jul 05, 2010

Source: VIREB

2009 Buyer Profile Release

The 2009 Buyer Profile was released on June 28, 2010, tracking where people are coming from, what they’re buying and why. The Buyer Profile also shows the home characteristics from the MLS® database with the highest frequency.  The most popular was a single-family detached unit (representing 62% of all sales,) with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a double garage and a vinyl exterior with ocean or mountain views.

Statistics provided are for the overall Board area, and for each individual Zone (Duncan/Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Port Alberni/West Coast, Parksville/Qualicum, Comox Valley, Campbell River, North Island, and Islands areas).

95% of sales transactions were homes purchased as a principal residence, with just 3% as investments or rentals, signalling little speculation in the market.

Cameron Muir, Chief Economist with the British Columbia Real Estate Association added that over the next decade, approximately 5,000 new households will be formed annually in the Vancouver Island/Coast Development Region, with approximately 1,300 of these new households formed in Nanaimo alone.

An electronic copy of the 2009 Buyer Profile can be found by clicking here