Decline In Vancouver Sales

At the end of 2016, the sales of homes in Metro Vancouver closed off the year with a decline, however, that didn’t stop the region from being the third best on record behind the previous year and 2005.

In 2016, reports from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver confirmed that there were 39,943 units sold, with a decline of 5.6 per cent from last year, but 20 per cent higher than the sales of units in 2014.

In the month of December, there was a decline of 39.4 per cent from the previous year with 1,714 units in sales, which was 22.6 per cent less than the total in November and 8 per cent below the 10-year average December. The sales of single-family detached homes which was split from the previous year were the reason for the decline in December.

Dan Morrison, the president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said; “It was an eventful year for real estate in Metro Vancouver. Escalating prices caused by low supply and strong home buyer demand brought more attention to the market than ever before.” With a decline of 2.2 per cent in the board’s home price index, the figure stood at $897,600 at the end of last year, and an incline of 17.8 per cent from 2015.

Morrison further said; “As prices rose in the first half of the year, the public debate waged about what was fuelling demand and what should be done to stop it. This led to multiple government interventions into the market. The long-term effects of these actions won’t be fully understood for some time.”