Home buyer demand remains below historical averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market. This has led some home sellers to remove their homes from the market in recent months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,351 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2013. This represents a 14.3 per cent decrease compared to the 1,577 sales recorded in January 2012, and an 18.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,142 sales in December 2012.
Last month’s sales were the second lowest January total in the region since 2001 and 18.7 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.
“Home sale activity has been below historical averages in Greater Vancouver for about seven months. This has caused a gradual decline in home prices of about 6 per cent since reaching a peak last spring,” Klein said.
Since reaching a peak in May of $625,100, the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has declined 5.9 per cent to $588,100. This represents a 2.8 per cent decline compared to this time last year.
“It appears many home sellers are opting to remove their homes from the market rather than settle for a price they don’t want,” Eugen Klein, REBGV president said.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,128 in January. This represents a 10.9 per cent decline compared to the 5,756 new listings reported in January 2012. Last month’s new listing count was 18.9 per cent higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.
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