Vancouver-area home sales slide continues
Posted March 2, 2017 10:05 am.
Last Updated March 2, 2017 10:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver-area home sales fell 41.9 per cent in February from the record set a year earlier. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver‘s says residential home sales across the region totalled 2,425 in February 2017. The board’s home price index fell 1.2 per cent from January to $906,700.
Last month’s sales were 7.7 per cent below the 10-year February sales average. “February home sales were well below the record-breaking activity from one year ago and in line with our long-term historical average for the month,” says board President Dan Morrison. “Limited supply and snowy weather were two factors hampering this activity.”
It says new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 3,666 last month which represents a nearly 37 per cent drop compared to the 5,812 units listed the previous February and an 11.4 per cent drop compared to January 2017 when 4,140 properties were listed. The board says that’s the lowest number of new listings registered in February since 2003.
The total number of properties currently listed for sale in Metro Vancouver is 7,594 which is a four per cent jump compared to February 2016 (7,299) and a 4.9 per cent increase compared to January 2017 (7,238).
“While home sales are not happening at the pace we experienced last year, home seller supply is still struggling to keep up with today’s demand. This is why we’ve seen little downward pressure on home prices, particularly in the condominium and townhome markets,” explains Morrison.
The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,474,200. This represents a 6.5 per cent decrease over the past six months and is unchanged compared to January 2017.
