The real estate market in Vancouver has not picked up any steam since it slowed down in the middle of 2016 in part due to a foreign-buyer tax introduced in August.
A total of 2,461 units were sold in February, which is down 42 per cent year-over-year from 4,254 units sold in the same month last year. The total dollar volume of sales fell almost 48 per cent, from almost $4.7 billion last year to less than $2.5 billion.
The average residential price has fallen a more modest 10 per cent, from $1,104,133 in February 2016 to $995,583.
“While benchmark prices are down modestly from their August high, they appear to be creeping up again,” said BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic in a note to investors.
“The high end of the market has clearly been hit harder, and condos have driven the turn-of-the-year price gains.”
Kavcic pointed out that since listings have also fallen (they are down 37 per cent in the past 12 months), the market remains somewhat balanced.
Across the province as a whole, 6,580 sales took place in the month — down 32 per cent from last year. Total dollar sales were $4.5 billion, which was a decrease of almost 40 per cent. The average price fell almost 12 per cent to $688,117 from $779,419 last year.
“Consumer demand has returned to a more typical level over the first two months of the year,” said BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir.
“While home sales have declined nearly 32 per cent from the extraordinary performance of a year ago, last month’s activity reflected the average for the month of February since the year 2000.”
Read original version of this story at: https://www.biv.com/article/2017/3/vancouver-real-estate-sales-remain-cool-bcrea/.
