Vancouver real estate sales reported a monthly increase in February

The latest report by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) shows that February home sales were up by almost 77% from January, while they were still 47.2% down on a year-over-year basis.

Vancouver saw 1,808 sales last month, which is much higher than a month ago, but 33% lower than the 10-year sales average for this month.

Although the number of properties for sale went up in February (by 5.2% monthly and 16.7% annually), REBGV says that restrained sales results point to the fact that potential sellers were still reluctant to list their homes amid the current market conditions.

According to Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics, new listing activity kept hoovering next to the lowest level in recent history. “Sales are not keeping up with the typical levels for this time of the year,” – he noted.

“At the same time, the below-average sales activity is helping to accumulate inventory, thus keeping market conditions from going too deep into sellers’ market, especially in case of more affordable sectors.”

The report says the composite benchmark price for residential properties kept going down from the peak we’ve seen a year ago, but it was still up compared to January.

The number exceeded $1.12 million slightly, marking a 1.1% monthly increase, but a 9.3% annual decline.