Vancouver home sales fall nearly 20 per cent in May as inventory continues to climb

VANCOUVER — Greater Vancouver’s real estate board says the number of homes that changed hands in May fell 19.9 per cent from the previous year as more new properties continued to hit the market.

Greater Vancouver Realtors says there were 2,733 home sales in the region last month, down from 3,411 sales recorded in May 2023 and 19.6 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average for May.

That came as the number of Metro Vancouver homes listed for sale rose 46.3 per cent year-over-year to 13,600, which is nearly one-fifth higher than the 10-year seasonal average.

Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, says it’s a “surprise” that May sales came in softer than usual, but chalked it up to factors ranging from higher borrowing costs to worries about the economy, along with various government policies.

The composite benchmark home price was $1,212,000, up 2.3 per cent from a year ago and a 0.5 per cent increase from April.

In May, there were 6,374 detached, attached and apartment properties newly available — a 12.6 per cent increase compared with May 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press