Sellers retreat as Vancouver home prices dip
BNN.ca staff
2:32 PM, E.T. | February 4, 2013
Canadian, Real Estate
Tags: Real Estate AA Share on emailFollow this Demand for resale homes hovered below historical averages in the Greater Vancouver area prompting some sellers to remove their listings, local real estate officials said Monday.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said residential property sales in Greater Vancouver were 1,351 on the Multiple Listing Service in January 2013, down 14.3 percent from the 1,577 homes sold in the same month a year earlier. On a month-over-month basis sales dipped 18.3 percent.
Last month's sales were the second lowest January in the region since 2001 and 18.7 percent below the 10-year sales average for the month.
"Home sale activity has been below historical averages in Greater Vancouver for about seven months. This has caused a gradual decline in home prices of about six percent since reaching a peak last spring," REBGV president Eugen Klein said.
Since reaching a peak of $625,100 in May, the MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has declined 5.9 percent to $588,100. This represents a 2.8-percent decline compared with the same time last year.
"It appears many home sellers are opting to remove their homes from the market rather than settle for a price they don't want," said Klein.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,128 in January, representing a 10.9-percent decline compared with the 5,756 new listings reported in January 2012. Last month's new listing count was 18.9 percent higher than the region's 10-year new listing average for the month.
The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS is 13,246 - a 5.6 percent increase compared with January 2012 and a 4.5-percent decline compared with December 2012. This marked the fourth consecutive month that overall home listings declined in the region.
"When a home seller isn't receiving the kind of offers they want, there comes a point when they decide to either lower the price or remove the home from the market. Right now, it seems many home sellers are opting for the latter," Klein said.
With the sales-to-active-listings ratio at 10.2 percent, the region remains in buyers' market territory. Since June, this ratio has ranged between eight and 11 percent.
[Johnny: This is the denial phase of the correction in housing prices. When interest rates rise there will be a further correction downward as few people will be able to qualify for the financing at the higher interest rates. Home price need to fall accordingly.] |
