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The recent Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) revealed that residential housing sales in Metro Vancouver dropped to lowest levels for the month of July since the year 2000.
CBC News reported that the month of July saw a total of 2,070 residential property sales, down 30.1% from the same period last year. When compared to the 2,425 homes sold in June this year, it can be seen that figures also dropped by 14.6%. In fact, according to REBGV, the numbers recorded last month were 29.3% below the 10-year sales average for the month of July.
"With fewer buyers active in today's market, we're seeing less upward pressure on home prices across the region," REBGV President Phil Moore said.
Moore added that the slowdown is more evident in the detached home market, although the demand in the townhome and apartment markets is also weakening.
Further, REBGV found that sales prices are falling. “The benchmark price for a detached home was $1.59 million in July, down 1.5% from a year earlier and 0.6% from June,” noted CBC News.
The downward trend was also observed in the red-hot condo and townhouse markets, where prices dropped between June and July. While the values are still higher than last year, the current benchmark price — $700,500 — for an apartment decreased by .5% from June. Meanwhile, townhouses are now $856,000, down .4%
Although slowdown in real estate during summer is usual, Moore said that the declines might be because of higher mortgage rates and stricter lending requirements.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board has also seen a drastic decline in sales since last year. A total of 1,290 sales were logged in July, down 33.4% from last year.
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