February home sales down 33% in Vancouver from 10-year average, board says

A real estate sign is pictured in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, June, 12, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER -

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says February's home sales were up 76.9 per cent from January, but down 47.2 per cent from the year before.

The board says sales for the month totalled 1,808, roughly 33 per cent below the 10-year February sales average.

The board says the numbers reflect a continued reluctance from prospective home sellers to list their properties, pushing sales well below historical norms.

However, the number of homes for sale in the region have continued inching upwards, moving up by 16.7 per cent from February 2022 and 5.2 per cent from January.

There were 3,467 new listings last month, a 36.6 per cent decrease, when compared with February 2022, and a 5.2 per cent increase, when compared with January.

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties hit $1,123,400, a 9.3 per cent drop from the same month last year but a 1.1 per cent increase, when compared with January.

“While we continue to expect home price trends to show year-over-year declines for a few more months, current data and market activity suggest pricing is firming up,” said Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics.

“In fact, some leading indicators suggest we may see modest price increases this spring, particularly if sales activity increases and mortgage rates hold steady.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2023.