Vancouver’s resale housing activity slid 3.3% in December, while the nation’s housing activity rose 1.8%, according to a report released this morning by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
“Whereas Canada in the last few months has seen increasing activity, Vancouver earlier this year reached its peak and it has since come down from its peak,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist.
Klump said Vancouver’s housing activity has been “pretty stable” over the last four months, posting small increases prior to December’s decline. But he emphasized that Vancouver’s activity is well down from its peak earlier this year.
“Whereas for all of Canada, in December [housing activity] actually reached the highest monthly level so far this year,” he said.
“Now [Canada’s housing activity is] increasing at a decreasing rate, so it’s showing signs of the momentum starting to come off. But it’s picked up speed as the year’s gone on, whereas Vancouver’s seasonally adjusted activity has slowed markedly since earlier this year.
Driving the disconnect between Vancouver’s real estate market and activity in the rest of the country is price, he said,
“[Vancouver’s] expensive,” he said. “Affordability, in combination with the tightened mortgage regulations we’ve seen – twice in as many years – certainly that’s really beginning to eat into sales for first-time home owners.”
He said those mortgage regulations, while in place across the country, have a larger impact on more expensive real estate markets.
“They’re going to be that much more restrictive.”
Jenny Wagler
@JennyWagler_BIV