Vancouver home sales down 3.8% in Sept. as lower rates fail to entice buyers: board

Houses are shown in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Vancouver-area home sales dropped 3.8 per cent in September compared with the same month last year, while listings grew to put modest pressure on pricing, said Greater Vancouver Realtors on Wednesday.

There were 1,852 sales of existing residential homes last month, which is 26 per cent below the 10-year average, and down 2.7 per cent, not seasonally adjusted, from August.

The board says the results show recent interest rate cuts haven't yet led to the expected rebound in activity, and that sales are still coming in below its forecast.

"September figures don’t offer the signal that many are watching for,” said Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, in a statement.

The Bank of Canada has already delivered three interest rate cuts this year to bring its policy rate to 4.25 per cent. With further cuts expected at its next two decisions, including what some banks say could be a half-percentage-point cut, there's still room for an upward swing in the market, said Lis.

"With two more policy rate decisions to go this year, and all signs pointing to further reductions, it’s not inconceivable that demand may still pick up later this fall should buyers step off the sidelines.”

For now though, there are many more sellers entering the market than buyers.

There were 6,144 newly listed properties in September, up 12.8 per cent from last year, to bring the total number of listings to 14,932. The total number of listings makes for a 31 per cent jump from last year, and is sitting 24 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

The combination of fewer sales and more listings left the composite benchmark price at $1,179,700, which is down 1.8 per cent from September 2023 and down 1.4 per cent from August.

The benchmark price for detached homes stood at $2.02 million, up 0.5 per cent from last year but down 1.3 per cent from August. The benchmark for apartment homes came in at $762,000, a 0.8 per cent decrease from both last year and August 2024.

The board says the sales-to-active listings ratio across residential property types was at 12.8 per cent in September, including 9.1 per cent for detached homes, while historical data indicates downward price pressure happens when the ratio dips below 12.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2024.