Multi-family real estate transactions

Multi-family real estate transactions filed Nov. 1-31 with the Clark County Assessor includes seller’s name, buyer’s name, property location, description, price and closing date.

JP Morgan to Eddlemon, Chad, 2833 N.E. Stapleton Road, Vancouver, 98661, duplex, $247,500, Nov. 12.

Monge, Jorge, to Gong, Jian, 14610 S.E. First St., Vancouver, 98684, four-plex, $315,000, Nov. 26.

Tapia, Ascencion, to Shashati, Elias, 2904 Bridge St., Vancouver, 98661, duplex, $145,000, Nov. 25.

Tapia, Ascencion, to Shashati, Elias, 2908 Bridge St., Vancouver, 98661, duplex, $140,000, Nov. 25.

Real estate sales on the North Shore continued to slow last month

The number suggest the unfolding economic crisis has slowed buyers down, said Rudy Nielsen, president of Landcor Data Corporation, a company that specializes in real estate information.

"My opinion is most people are nervous," he said. "They've seen so much negative stuff in the media. . . . Everybody's just sitting back and saying: 'I'm not going to do anything.' "

The North Shore's declining home values are part of a larger trend across the Lower Mainland. November saw the benchmark price for a home in the Vancouver region fall to $496,000, a 12.8-per-cent drop from a year ago. In all, just 874 Lower Mainland homes sold last month compared to 2,883 in November 2007, meaning the region's housing market has slowed by almost 70 per cent.

Preening for the Olympics, Vancouver Is Building Up

With the 2010 Winter Games a bit more than a year away, many buildings are rising in and around Vancouver, each crowned by a slender crane that hoists construction materials to the top. Some of these new buildings will be condominiums, and a significant number of them will be owned by those who plan to use them as second homes.

Those involved in local real estate estimate that about 20 percent of those second-home buyers will be Americans. “We’re really livable, which is why America likes us,” said Bob Rennie, whose company, Rennie Marketing Systems, promotes several developments in Vancouver.

There has been a lot of construction going on in Vancouver in preparation for the Games — and beyond. After the Winter Games, the 16-building Olympic Village, which will house about 2,800 athletes, is to be converted into a 730-unit luxury condominium complex called Millennium Water. About half the units have already been sold, Mr. Rennie said.

Metro Vancouver real-estate sales volumes fall in November

There’s more evidence of a slowing housing market in Metro Vancouver.

Today, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported in a news release that the volume of residential property sales declined 69.7 percent in November from the same month a year ago.

In the past month, there were 874 residential sales, compared with 2,883 sales in November, 2007. The REBGV does not include Surrey and Langley, which are part of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

The sales volume of detached properties dropped 69.8 percent from the same month a year ago, whereas the sales volume of apartments fell 67.9 percent.

Prices also fell, though not nearly as sharply. The REBGV’s benchmark price for residential properties fell 8.3 percent in November from the same month a year ago.