Vancouver Island Real Estate Buyer's Profile Released by VIREB

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board has released its 2010 Buyer Profile, tracking where people are coming from, what they’re buying and why.
Statistics provided are for the overall VIREB 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).
6,272 letters were sent to residential buyers obtained from the MLS database for 2010. 1,582 responses were completed and entered into a database, from which the Buyer Profile was developed.
Cameron Muir, Chief Economist with the British Columbia Real Estate Association, said the VIREB Buyer Profile reveals interesting demographic trends.
“Statistically this year’s Buyer Profile is very similar to last year’s with 16% of the buyers buying their first home and 41% were buying for retirement.”
Low mortgage rates and attractive pricing were key drivers again for 2010’s buyers.
“Mortgage rates are not expected to increase much over the summer and when the increases begin, they are expected to be gradual,” Cameron added.
VIREB president Jim Stewart said, “This document reinforces why people move here: lifestyle, affordability, accessibility and all of the other amenities that make Vancouver Island such a great place to live.”
96% of sales transactions were homes purchased as a principal residence, with just 2% as investments or rentals, signaling little speculation in the market.
The Buyer Profile also shows the popular home characteristics from the MLS database with the highest frequency. The most popular was a single-family detached unit (representing 60% of all sales,) with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a double garage and a vinyl exterior, with ocean or mountain views.