February home sales in Metro Vancouver were down 42.5% on 10-year average

Mar 5 2019, 4:15 am

Metro Vancouver’s housing market is still going downhill.

A newly released monthly report by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) indicates February 2019’s home sales were 42.5% below the 10-year sales average for the month. There was an increased supply in inventory and below-average demand from home buyers in February.

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Home sales in the region reached 1,484 units in February 2019, which is a 32.8% decrease from the 2,207 sales in the same month in 2018 and a 34.5% increase from January 2019. Sales increased by 34.5% from the 1,103 homes sold in January 2019, but this is expected from the usual annual uptick at the time of the year.

“For much of the past four years, we’ve been in a sellers’ market. Conditions have shifted over the last 12 months to favour buyers, particularly in the detached home market. This means that home buyers face less competition today, have more selection to choose from and more time to make their decisions,” said Phil Moore, president of REBGV, in a statement.

According to the REBGV, there were 3,892 properties across all home types newly listed for sale during the month, representing a 7.8% decrease compared to February 2018 and a 19.7% decrease compared to January 2019.

Currently, on the region’s MLS system, there are 11,590 homes listed for sale — a 48.2% increase compared to the same period in 2018 and a 7.2% increase compared to the first month of the year.

The sales-to-active listings ratio for February 2019 is 12.8%, with analysts stating a downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12% threshold for a sustained period. But home prices often experience upward pressure when prices surpass 20% over several months.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1.016 million, which is a 6.1% decrease from February 2018, a 6.2% decrease over the past six months, and a 0.3% decrease compared to January 2019.

February 2019 home sales statistics

Detached homes

  • Number of units sold: 448 (-27.9% year-over-year)
  • Benchmark price: $1,443,100 (-9.7% year-over-year; -7.6% over the past six months; -0.7% over January 2019)

Apartment homes

  • Number of units sold: 759 (-35.9% year-over-year)
  • Benchmark price: $660,300 (-4% year-over-year; -5.1% over the past six months; +0.3% over January 2019)

Townhouse sales

  • Number of units sold: 277 (-30.9% year-over-year)
  • Benchmark price: $789,300 (-3.3% year-over-year; -6.7% over the past six months; -1.4% over January 2019)
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