Vancouver-area home sales in August down 40% from same month last year: real estate board
Last month's sales were nearly 30% below 10-year August average
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales last month plunged roughly 40 per cent compared to August 2021, but were almost unchanged from July.
The board says sales for the month in the region it covers amounted to 1,870 and came amid a quieter summer season marked by reduced buying and listing activity. There were 3,125 sales reported in August 2021.
Last month's sales were nearly 30 per cent below the 10-year August average, the board said.
Sales of detached homes saw the most dramatic drop — 45 per cent — when comparing August 2021 and August 2022 figures, with apartments trailing at 39 per cent and attached homes at 38 per cent.
The composite benchmark price reached more than $1.1 million, a seven per cent increase over August 2021 and a two per cent drop compared to July 2022.
Andrew Lis, the board's director of economic and data analytics, attributed many of the figures to the high cost of living.
"With inflationary pressure and interest rates on the rise, home buyer and seller activity shifted below our long-term seasonal averages this summer,'' he said in a news release.
"This shift in market conditions caused prices to edge down over the past four months."
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver covers the communities of Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple
Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta,
Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.