Vancouver Real Estate Sees July Slump
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) announced today the region’s July real estate sales for detached, attached and apartment properties. Reporting a 11.2 per cent decline from June sales and a 18.4 per cent decline from July 2011’s sales, the region saw the lowest total sales in July since 2000.
“People appear to be cautious about making significant financial decisions right now. While our local economy appears to be quite robust, there may be some concern about the impact of international markets and the federal government’s tightening of mortgage regulations,” says Eugen Klein, REBGV president.
New listings for real estate properties in Vancouver also reached a year low, totalling 4,802 in July. This new listing decline came in at 14.5 per cent less than June’s 5,617 listings. Other decreases were seen in active listings on the MLS, declining 2.2 per cent from June and 18.8 per cent from July of last year.
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“With a sales-to-active-listing ratio of 11.6 per cent, conditions have favoured buyers in our marketplace in recent months,” Klein said. “That means buyers have more selection to choose from and more time to make a decision. For sellers, it’s important to price properties competitively. For information on local market prices, contact your REALTOR®.”
On the other hand, the MLS Home Price Index reported an increase for composite benchmark price of Vancouver’s residential properties, seeing a 0.6 per cent rise in comparison to July 2011 although it was still a decline of 0.7 per cent from June 2012.
