Greater Vancouver Realtors says home sales in the region dropped 17.1 per cent in August compared to the same month in 2023 and remained more than a quarter below the 10-year seasonal average.
The real estate board says sales in the market totalled 1,904 last month, down from the 2,296 recorded in August 2023.
The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was $1,195,900, a 0.9 per cent decrease compared to August 2023 and a 0.1 per cent decrease from July, according to the MLS Home Price Index.
In the area covered by Greater Vancouver Realtors, 4,109 detached, attached and apartment properties were newly listed in August, 4.2 per cent more than the same month last year.
Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, says sales remained in a “holding pattern” in August, suggesting buyers were still feeling the pinch of higher borrowing costs despite the Bank of Canada’s two previous cuts to its key interest rate.
He says he’s optimistic buyers will come off the sidelines after the central bank announced a third consecutive decrease by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, coupled with the fact that September typically sees more homes changing hands.
The areas and municipalities covered by Greater Vancouver Realtors are Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.