Vancouver home sales continue slowing
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/08/2012 (4842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
VANCOUVER — July home sales in Vancouver, once the country’s hottest real estate market, continued to slide and hit their lowest total for the month since 2000.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Thursday 2,098 properties sold in the month, down 18.4 per cent from 2,571 in July 2011 and down 11.2 per cent from June’s mark of 2,362, which was also the lowest total for that month since 2000.
Despite the sharp drop in the number of homes sold, the board says the MLS home price index composite benchmark price was $616,000, up 0.6 per cent from a year ago, but down 0.7 per cent from June.
![Postmedia Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER, BC: MARCH 11, 2011 -- 3489 Osler Street in Vancouver was the priciest house sold in Vancouver last year for just over $17.5 million dollars. March 11, 2011. (Photo by Jenelle Schneider/PNG)(for SUN story by Brian Morton) [PNG Merlin Archive] For Brian Morton (Vancouver Sun). BC-LUXURY-REAL-ESTATE](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/4271830.jpg?w=1000)
“People appear to be cautious about making significant financial decisions right now,” board president Eugen Klein said in a statement.
“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.”
The total number of active residential property listings on the MLS system was 18,081, up 18.8 per cent from a year ago, but down 2.2 per cent compared with a month ago.
The board says with a sales-to-active-listing ratio of 11.6 per cent, conditions have favoured buyers in the market in recent months.
“That means buyers have more selection to choose from and more time to make a decision,” Klein said.
The slowdown comes as Ottawa tightens mortgage lending in Canada.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty moved in June to cool the red-hot condo markets in Toronto and Vancouver by tightening the rules for borrowers including cutting the maximum amortization period for government insured mortgages cut to 25 years from 30.
As well, the federal regulator of financial institutions has told lenders they can only issue home equity loans up to of 65 per cent of the property’s value, down from 80 per cent.
— The Canadian Press