Lower Mainland home sales drop despite BoC interest rate cut

Despite the Bank of Canada cutting its prime interest rate last month, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) and Greater Vancouver Realtors say it has done little to kick-start home sales in the region.

The FVREB says Wednesday that the region recorded 1,317 sales in June, down by 13 per cent over the previous month, and down by more than 30 per cent over 2023.

“With seasonally slow sales in June and a steady increase in inventory, we’d expect to see affordability improve,” said Jeff Chadha, Chair of the FVREB.

“However, prices in the Fraser Valley remained relatively flat. That said, despite slow sales, properties that are well-priced are finding buyers, and are subsequently selling within three to four weeks.”

The real estate board says listings in the Fraser Valley have continued to climb for the sixth straight month to 8,350 active listings in June. The board says the number of listings is the highest they’ve been in five years.

“The June rate cut hasn’t been enough to get buyers off the sidelines,’ said FVREB CEO, Baldev Gill. “Current market conditions are such that buyers and sellers are advised to have thoughtful conversations with their Realtor and lending professional, rather than relying on media reports about where interest rates may be heading in the future.”

The benchmark price for a single-family home in the Valley dropped by 0.1 per cent, the board says, coming in at $1,528,900.

Meanwhile, a townhome in the Valley’s benchmark price is $851,100, with condos coming in around $551,100, the real estate board says.

Meanwhile, Greater Vancouver’s real estate board says the number of homes sold in June tumbled 19.1 per cent from the previous year as inventory continued accumulating to levels not seen since the spring of 2019.

Greater Vancouver Realtors says there were 2,418 home sales in the region last month, 23.6 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average for June and down from 2,988 sales recorded in June 2023.

That came as the number of Metro Vancouver homes listed for sale soared 42 per cent year-over-year to 14,182, which is around one-fifth higher than the 10-year seasonal average.

Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, says the June data marks the continuation of a trend where buyers appear “hesitant,” despite sellers remaining keen to list their properties. He says the result is improved selection for buyers and more balanced conditions.

The composite benchmark home price was $1,207,100, up 0.5 per cent from a year ago, but a 0.4 per cent decrease from May.

In June, there were 5,723 detached, attached and apartment properties newly available for sale _ a seven per cent increase compared with June 2023.