Stalled Vancouver housing market drags down stats for all of British Columbia

British Columbia home prices continued to drop sharply last month but the declines are being driven by the Vancouver market where sales continue to slump, say realtors in the province.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association, which represents about 20,000 realtors, said Tuesday that there 7,272 sales through Multiple Listing Service last month, a 16.7 per cent drop from a year ago. The total volume by dollars was $4.4 billion last month, a 24.2 per cent decline from a year ago.

The average sale price in the province was $606,787 in October, a 9.1 per cent decline from a year earlier.

“Housing demand remained mixed across the province in October,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist with the association. “Home sales across the Lower Mainland were down from the elevated levels of one year ago, but stabilized on a month to month basis. In contrast, home sales on Vancouver Island and in the interior of the province continue to post strong year-over-year gains.”

Muir said the decline in average prices across the province was due to a smaller proportion of transactions in originating in Vancouver. Home sales through the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver fell to 31.4 per cent of provincial transactions last month which compares with to 42.6 per cent a year ago.

Over the first 10 month of the year, the total sales volume in the province was $70.4 billion, a 27.4 per cent increase from a year ago. Unit sales were up 15 per cent during the period and the average price climbed 10.8 per cent to $696,992.

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