Real estate now Buyer's market

Greater Vancouver’s housing market has caught a chill in the middle of summer.

Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver tumbled 45.2 per cent in July from the same month in 2009, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Wednesday.

July 2009 is the highest selling July on record at the Greater Vancouver board.

Sales last month also fell 24.1 per cent from June 2010, the board said.

“Home-sales activity in Greater Vancouver was quieter last month than most Julys over the past decade, with residential sales, prices, and the number of homes listed for sale trending downward in recent months,” it said.

The benchmark price for all residential properties has fallen 2.8 per cent to $577,074 from the all-time high of $593,419 reached in April, the board said. Prices in July, however, remained 9.1 per cent higher than a year earlier.

The recent cooling translates into a buyer’s market. “With the pace of home sales and listings easing off in our market, we’ve begun to see a levelling of home prices from the record highs seen in the spring, creating greater affordability,” board president Jake Moldowan said.

The number of listings on the MLS last month fell 6.5 per cent from June 2010. Listings, however, are up 33 per cent from July 2009.

“It’s currently taking home sellers . . . on average, 45 days to sell their property, which is a historically healthy time frame for both sides of a transaction,” Moldowan said.

Year-over-year sales of detached properties fell 43.7 per cent in July, apartment sales dropped 42.7 per cent, and attached-property sales declined 53.5 per cent.

(prepared by Paul Luke/Vancouver Province)