Greater Vancouver home sales down in March as prices rise: board

Homes are pictured in Vancouver, Tuesday, Apr. 16, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Greater Vancouver's real estate board says the number of homes that changed hands in March fell from the previous year, as total sales were nearly one-third lower than the 10-year average.

Greater Vancouver Realtors says there were 2,415 home sales in the region last month, a 4.7 per cent decrease from the 2,535 sales recorded in March 2023.

That came as the total number of Metro Vancouver homes listed for sale rose 22.5 per cent year-over-year to 10,552, which is 6.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

In March, there were 5,002 detached, attached and apartment properties newly available - a 15.9 per cent increase compared with the 4,317 properties listed in March 2023.

The composite benchmark home price was $1,196,800, up 4.5 per cent from a year ago and up 1.1 per cent increase from February.

Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, says the market isn't as hot as it was last spring, especially for buyers, as “the overall market balance continues inching deeper into sellers' market territory.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3,2024.