Home sales in the Greater Vancouver declined nearly 23% in 2012, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
A total of 25,032 apartments and detached and attached homes sold in 2012 – a 22.7% decline (based on a 10-year average) from 2011, which had 32,387 sales. Total sales in 2010 were 30,595.
The decline in home sales was even sharper for December 2012. Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,142 – down 31.1% from 1,658 sales in December 2011 and down 32.3% from November 2012.
December sales were 38.4 % below the 10-year December average of 1,855.
Home prices also dipped. Prices peaked in May 2012, with a benchmark price of $625,100, and have since dropped 5.8% to $590,800.
The decline in sales has resulted in fewer homes being listed. The number of residential properties listed for sale on the MLS in Greater Vancouver was down to 58,379 in 2012 compared with 59,539 in 2011 – a 2% drop.
“For much of 2012, we saw a collective hesitation on the part of buyers and sellers in the Greater Vancouver housing market,” said REBGV president Eugen Klein.
“This behaviour was reflected in lower-than-average home sale activity and modest fluctuations in home prices.”
