Home sales in Metro Vancouver dropped 5.6% last year

Jan 5 2017, 2:06 am

2016 was “an eventful year for real estate in Metro Vancouver,” according to the president of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, Dan Morrison.

“Escalating prices caused by low supply and strong home buyer demand brought more attention to the market than ever before,” he added.

Sales of detached, attached, and apartment properties in the region totalled 39,943 in 2016 – a 5.6% decrease from 2015.

As prices rose in the first half of the year, “public debate waged about what was fuelling demand and what should be done to stop it,” Morrison furthered. “This led to multiple government interventions into the market. The long-term effects of these actions won’t be fully understood for some time.”

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In total, 57,596 residential properties were listed in 2016 on the Multiple Listings Service –an increase of 0.6% compared to 2015.

“The supply of homes for sale couldn’t keep up with home buyer demand for much of 2016. This allowed home sellers to raise their asking price,” said Morrison. “It wasn’t until the last half of the year that prices began to show modest declines.”

The year ended with the benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver sitting at $897,600 – a 2.2% decrease over the past six months. However, this was still a 17.8% increase compared to December 2015.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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