Metro Vancouver home sales plunged 45.2% in July

Edited by Tanya Chu

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported August 4that the number of residential property sales in Metro Vancouver slid 45.2% last month compared with July 2009.

The REBGV counted 2,255 sales in July 2010 compared with 4,114 sales in the same month a year ago.

Real estate wisdom has it that when sales get sluggish, prices start to fall. And, according to REBGV president Jake Moldowan, that is exactly what is happening.

“With the pace of home sales and listings easing off in our market, we’ve begun to see a levelling of home prices from the record highs seen in the spring, creating greater affordability,” he said. “Activity in today’s marketplace is clearly trending in favour of buyers.”

There is, however, a tighter supply of available properties.

The number of properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver has been trending downward since spring, with 4,138 new listings in July compared with April’s peak of 7,648.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver on the Multiple Listing Service declined 17.9% in July 2010 compared with July 2009, when 5,041 properties were listed for sale.

This is good news for real estate investors as this dip may finally mean we are finally following the US in slumping housing prices. For those who are new homebuyers or real estate investors looking for cash flow properties, hopefully in a few more months, we can enter the market and swoop up some superb investment deals!