Vancouver home sales drop sharply in June, hit 10-year low

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — Vancouver home sales fell 17.2 per cent from May to June and hit their lowest level in more than a decade, the city’s real estate board said Wednesday, tilting the market in favour of buyers.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said there were 2,362 sales in June, down from 2,853 in May and down 27.6 per cent from 3,262 in June 2011.

“Overall conditions have trended in favour of buyers in our marketplace in recent months,” board president Eugen Klein said.

“This means buyers are facing less competition and have more selection to choose from compared to earlier in the year.”

The board said June sales were the lowest total for the month in the region since 2000.

Vancouver has been one of the country’s hottest housing markets, but has shown signs of cooling in recent months.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in the Greater Vancouver region totalled 5,617 in June, down from 6,927 new listings in May and from 5,793 new properties a year ago.

The total number of residential property listings on the board’s MLS service was 18,493, up 3.27 per cent from May and up 22 per cent from this time last year.

Despite the drop in the number of sales, the housing price index for residential properties in Vancouver was still up 1.7 per cent from a year ago.

15:12ET 04-07-12