Vancouver residential real estate plunges

Housing sales in Vancouver

Greater Vancouver’s real estate market slowed down significantly over the summer, with home sales down 30 per cent from the same time last year, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Sales in August also decreased by 21.4 per cent from July, the board said on Wednesday.

The biggest drop in sales came from detached properties.

Listings for residential properties increased nearly 14 per cent from last year, but August sales were the second lowest for the month in the region since 1998, said REBGV president Eugen Klein.

Despite those seemingly dire numbers, Klein said housing prices remain constant in what he calls a buyer’s market.

“Home sales this summer have been lower than we’ve seen for most of the past 10 years, yet we continue to see relative stability when it comes to prices,” he said in a press release.