Close X
Friday, November 29, 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

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Canada unemployment rate hits new record
Canada clawed back 289,600 jobs in May as provincial governments began easing public health restrictions and businesses reopened, Statistics Canada said Friday. Still, the unemployment rate in May rose to 13.7 per cent, the highest level in more than four decades of comparable data.

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real
The head of Toronto's police service took a public knee on Friday in solidarity with marching anti-racism demonstrators protesting police killings of black people, with similar demonstrations planned in other Canadian cities.

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is offering $14 billion to the provincial and territorial governments for measures to keep COVID-19 at bay.

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year

Vancouver doubles height for mass-timber development from six to twelve storeys

Vancouver doubles height for mass-timber development from six to twelve storeys
Amendments to the city's building bylaw approved by Council last week will allow mass timber construction up to 12 storeys for residential and commercial uses, doubling the current height limit of 6 storeys. With changes taking effect on July 1, permitting taller mass timber construction within the Building By-law will make it easier to build with low carbon materials, support housing affordability, and remove barriers for the construction industry at a time of crisis and economic recovery.

Vancouver doubles height for mass-timber development from six to twelve storeys

COVID-19 modeling data highlights safe distancing benefits as B.C. reopens

COVID-19 modeling data highlights safe distancing benefits as B.C. reopens
New COVID-19 modelling information highlights the virus-fighting benefits of safe distancing protocols as British Columbia reopens the province while the pandemic progresses.

COVID-19 modeling data highlights safe distancing benefits as B.C. reopens

Top Mountie in Kelowna transferred after videos show officer punching suspect

Top Mountie in Kelowna transferred after videos show officer punching suspect
The top Mountie in Kelowna, B.C., has been transferred to another job days after videos emerged of an officer punching a suspect. Supt. Brent Mundle is taking a new position with the senior management team of the force's Southeast Division based in the Okanagan city.

Top Mountie in Kelowna transferred after videos show officer punching suspect