Vancouver home sales plunge again

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Metro Vancouver home sales fell 39.4 per cent from a year earlier to 1,714. They were down 22.6 per cent from November, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and 5.6 per cent for the year.

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver, as measured by the Multiple Listing Service home price index, hit $897,600 in December. That’s a 17.8 per cent increase from the same month the previous year.

The figures wrap up a tumultuous year in one of the country’s most watched housing markets. “It was an eventful year for real estate in Metro Vancouver. Escalating prices caused by low supply and strong home buyer demand brought more attention to the market than ever before,” says board President Dan Morrison. “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. This led to multiple government interventions into the market. The long-term effects of these actions won’t be fully understood for some time.”

Residential property sales in the city started the year off strong, sometimes hitting record highs, but partway through the year the market started to cool, with sales and eventually prices declining.

Homes for sale in Metro Vancouver reached 57,596 in 2016. The board says this is an increase of 0.6 per cent compared to the 57,249 properties listed in 2015 and a 2.6 per cent increase compared to the 56,066 properties listed in 2014.

“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. It wasn’t until the last half of the year that prices began to show modest declines.”

A number of measures have been implemented in an effort to address home affordability concerns in Vancouver, including a 15 per cent tax for foreign buyers and a tax on homes left vacant in Vancouver.