Metro Vancouver's real estate recovery continued in October, with home sales soaring 45.4% higher than the same month last year.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported that residential resale transactions in the region totalled 2,858 in October, which is the highest number of homes sold in a single month so far this year.

Homebuyers appear to become more confident today than what appears to be the situation during the first half of this year. This is likely due to prices finally edging down over the last year, while interest rates remain low.

As more inventory was absorbed by a more active market, the number of available listings declined - exacerbated by fewer sellers listing their homes for sale in October. There were only 4,074 homes listed for sale on the regions MLS in October, which is 16.4% less than the 4,873 homes that were listed last October. 

While sales have been increasing the past few months compared with last year, the benchmark price of a typical Metro Vancouver home is now pegged at $992,000, 6.4% lower than last October.

The benchmark price of an attached home is $771,600, which is 5.8% lower than  October 2018 and the benchmark price of a typical apartment is $652,000, down 5.9% from October 2018.

A 74 acres mixed-used development in the Township of Langley, which is said to be the largest master-planned community of its type in Metro Vancouver, has just 'officially' began, even though home construction on the site began earlier this year.

'Latimer Heights', being developed by Vesta Properties, is meant to be an 'intergenerational community' that will consist of approximately 2000 homes -  including retirement homes - a new elementary school and 17 acres of green space and parkland. A retail village is also planned as a later phase in the development. The total cost of the development is projected at $1 billion.

The community has been designed to attract families moving in and then perhaps the grandparents joining them in another part of the community.  Everybody will be living together. Latimer Heights will create a new kind of community that will blend a wide variety of demographics.

Homes will include detached homes, row homes, townhouses, duplexes, and low and high rise condos.

Prices for detached houses of 2,500 square feet start at $883,000; townhomes start at $555,000, and condo apartments will in the low $300,000 range.

Latimer Heights is close to the proposed SkyTrain that will eventually link Langley with the SkyTrain hub in central Surrey.