For Metro Vancouver real-estate agents, there was good news and bad news contained in a new Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver report on residential sales.

On the upside, sales volumes increased significantly in February over the previous month. According to the REBGV, there were 1,480 sales registered last month, up from 762 the previous month.

This 94 percent month-by-month increase was significantly higher than the average of a 53 percent increase in sales in February over January over the past 10 years.

However, comparing February 2009 sales volumes to figures in the same month of 2008 didn't result in such a pleasant story. There was a 44.7 percent decline this year—from 2,676 sales in February of 2008 to 1,480 sales in February of 2009.

Residential prices in the region were down 13.5 percent over the same month a year ago. The benchmark price for a detached home was $653,452 in Vancouver, compared to $426,268 for an attached home, and $333,143 for an apartment.