Vancouver’s real estate market saw resale activity continue to decline in August, as potential buyers remained cautious despite recent interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

Home sales in Greater Vancouver fell 17.1% compared to August 2023 and were down 21% from the previous month. Just 1,904 properties traded homes in Canada’s third-largest city, significantly below the 10-year seasonal average.

“From a seasonal perspective, August is typically a slower month for sales than June or July. In this respect, this August has been no different,” noted Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics for Greater Vancouver Realtors.

“With that said, sales remain in a holding pattern, trending roughly 20% below their 10-year seasonal average, which suggests buyers are still feeling the pinch of higher borrowing costs, despite two recent quarter percentage point reductions to the policy rate this summer.”

In terms of new listings, there were 4,109 properties added to the market in August, representing a 4.2% increase from the same time last year.

This brought the total number of properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver to 13,812, marking a 37% increase from the 10,082 listings recorded in August 2023. This figure is also 20.8% higher than the 10-year seasonal average of 11,432.

The lower demand caused the composite benchmark price for residential properties to drop by 0.9% year-over-year to $1,195,900. This was also down slightly by 0.1% from July.

Home sales across Greater Vancouver experienced a notable 17.1% drop in August compared to the same month last year, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors. Sales were also 27.6% below the 10-year seasonal average, with a total of 1,904 homes sold, down from 2,296 in August 2023.

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver stood at $1,195,900, marking a 0.9% decline from a year earlier and a 0.1% decrease compared to July.

“With the Bank of Canada’s decision to reduce the policy rate today by another quarter percentage point, and with September being a month that typically sees an increase in sales from a seasonal perspective, the fall market is set up to bring more buyers off the sidelines,” Lis added. “We will watch the upcoming September data to see whether they decide to show up.”

andrew lis british columbia Greater Vancouver Realtors Regional vancouver vancouver home prices vancouver home sales

Last modified: October 2, 2024