B.C. home sales fell in August as inventory rose: B.C. Real Estate Association

The slowdown in residential sales comes with a slight decrease in home prices

Published Sep 11, 2024  •  2 minute read

This cut equates to approximately $15 per month per $100,000 that you've borrowed on a variable rate mortgage, says Rebecca Casey, president of the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association of B.C. Photo by Gerry Kahrmann /Vancouver Sun

Home sales across B.C. slowed down in August compared to the same month last year and is nearly a quarter lower than the 10-year-seasonal average, said the B.C. Real Estate Association.

Despite the Bank of Canada’s two consecutive cuts to the key interest rate, buyers appeared to be sticking to the sidelines.

In August, 5,943 homes were sold across the province, a 10 per cent decrease from August 2023 and 22 per cent lower than the ten-year average for the month, said the association.

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“After some encouraging signs of recovery in early summer, sales slowed again in August,” said Brendon Ogmundson, the association’s chief economist.

“However, with the Bank of Canada lowering rates for a third consecutive time and with fixed mortgage rates falling, we expect market activity to pick up in the fall.”

The Bank of Canada lowered the key interest rates to 4.25 per cent last week, the third cut since June.

The slowdown in residential sales comes with a slight decrease in home prices, which across B.C. was down 1.7 per cent in August to $938,500 compared to last August. 

Prices dipped by 2.5 per cent in Greater Vancouver to nearly $1.25 million even as listings jumped by 37 per cent.

The region recorded a sales-to-active listings ratio of 13.8 — considered a balanced market — compared to last August’s 22.7 ratio which indicates a seller’s market.

Prices also fell in Victoria this August from slightly more than $1 million to $948,066, a seven per cent decrease, while in the Fraser Valley, residential prices rose by six per cent to $1,059,005.

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