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Sales, average detached-home price slump in Metro Vancouver

16 per cent drop indicates a 'return to normal' according to real estate board
real estate
According to numbers released today by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the average detached home price fell almost $300,000 — more than 16 per cent — dropping to $1,470,265 from $1,764,682. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Average detached home prices in Metro Vancouver fell dramatically in August in the largest monthly price drop in the region’s recent history, according to numbers released today by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The average detached home price fell almost $300,000 — more than 16 per cent — dropping to $1,470,265 from $1,764,682.

“Sales have been trending downward in Metro Vancouver for a few months,” said REBGV president Dan Morrison in a press release. “The new foreign buyer tax appears to have added to this trend by reducing foreign buyer activity and causing some uncertainty amongst local home buyers and sellers.”

August’s housing sales in the region were 3.5 per cent below the month’s 10-year sales average. New listings during the month totalled 4,293 in August compared to 5,241 in July, a drop of 18 per cent.

As for other real estate classes, apartments and attached homes had large average price declines. Average apartment prices fell 8 per cent from $573,759 to $528,808 and the average price of attached homes dropped more than 7 per cent to $730,189 from $798,529.

The total number of listed properties for sale in Metro Vancouver declined almost 22 per cent since this time last year, and dropped almost 2 per cent from July of this year.

In its release, the REBGV characterized the declines as “Metro Vancouver home sales return to normal,” and used the housing price index benchmark to cast the price drop in a more positive light.

The benchmark price for a home in the region fell by an even $1,000 to $1,577,300, for a drop of a fraction of a percentage point.

Average prices are the mean transaction price for all detached homes. Benchmark prices equate sales prices for equivalent homes, taking into consideration the location, number of bedrooms, yard size and other significant differences.

According to Morrison, there continues to be an imbalance between supply and demand in most communities. This has caused average sale prices to plummet while benchmark prices remain relatively stable.

This story was first published here.