Friday, April 19, 2024
ADVT 
National

Greater Vancouver home sales start to tick up

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Jul, 2020 10:24 PM
  • Greater Vancouver home sales start to tick up

Home sales in the Greater Vancouver area are starting to return to more typical levels after dipping to four-decade lows in April, while prices continue to edge up from 2019.

Residential sales last month reached 2,443, a 64.5 per cent jump from May and a 17.6 per cent year-over-year increase.

The figure still hovered 21.9 per cent below the 10-year sales average for June.

Board chair Colette Gerber said realtors and their clients are getting more used to exploring and showcasing homes remotely through video tours and floor-plan reviews as buyers and sellers alike acclimate to health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Much more of the real estate transaction is happening virtually today," Gerber said in a release Friday.

"Over the last three months, home buyers and sellers have become more comfortable operating within the physical distancing and other safety protocols in place."

New home listings rose 21.8 per cent to 5,787 in June compared with a year earlier, a leap of 57.1 per cent from May, the board said.

The sales-to-active listings ratio was 21.4 per cent, well outside the range analysts consider as signalling potential for downward pressure on prices.

Prices have held steady over the last few months, with the composite benchmark index price at $1.03 million in June.

The figure marks a 0.3 per cent dip compared to May but a 3.5 per cent boost from June 2019.

In April, home sales in the Greater Vancouver area hit their lowest levels in nearly 40 years due to fallout from the virus, and experts said price declines could be expected to follow eventually.

MORE National ARTICLES

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals
The Conservatives are asking the federal procurement watchdog to review the circumstances around several sole-sourced contracts between the Liberal government and WE Charity.

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak
A coalition of First Nations chiefs and residential school survivors are rejecting new recommendations to lift Sen. Lynn Beyak's suspension from the Senate.

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns
Experts and advocates say mandatory mask policies will only work if they're backed up by efforts to provide access and education to vulnerable populations.

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns

High court won't hear new pipeline appeal

High court won't hear new pipeline appeal
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear a new appeal from British Columbia First Nations over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

High court won't hear new pipeline appeal

July added to COVID-19 rent-relief program

July added to COVID-19 rent-relief program
Federal and provincial governments have agreed to extend a commercial rent relief program to help cover July costs for eligible small businesses, with a few changes.

July added to COVID-19 rent-relief program

No consistent evidence cameras reduce police violence

No consistent evidence cameras reduce police violence
A Calgary police officer loudly tells an Indigenous man to put his hands on the roof of his car and, within seconds, the situation escalates to yelling. Body-worn camera video from the officer's chest then shows the man's head pushed into his vehicle.

No consistent evidence cameras reduce police violence