Close X
Tuesday, December 3, 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

Trudeau, allies call for global unity at UN summit on pandemic recovery

Trudeau, allies call for global unity at UN summit on pandemic recovery
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led a united call for global co-operation at a major United Nations meeting Thursday aimed at mitigating the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau, allies call for global unity at UN summit on pandemic recovery

Trump targets Twitter, threatens changes to U.S. law enshrined in USMCA

Trump targets Twitter, threatens changes to U.S. law enshrined in USMCA
Donald Trump launched a Twitter war of a different sort Thursday, picking a fight with the online platforms that helped to shape his political career — a feud that, should it escalate, could curtail free speech in the United States and even run afoul of North America's new trade pact.

Trump targets Twitter, threatens changes to U.S. law enshrined in USMCA

Opposition parties call on Liberals to restore human-trafficking victims fund

Opposition parties call on Liberals to restore human-trafficking victims fund
An Ontario centre that helps women and girls who have been victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation has to shut one of its key support programs next month due to a federal fund that has expired, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Opposition parties call on Liberals to restore human-trafficking victims fund

Feds look for exit amid talks with Quebec on keeping military in care homes

Feds look for exit amid talks with Quebec on keeping military in care homes
Ottawa and the Canadian Armed Forces have started looking for an exit strategy amid talks with Quebec about the continued provision of military personnel to long-term care homes hit hard by COVID-19.

Feds look for exit amid talks with Quebec on keeping military in care homes

Salmon expected to begin arriving soon at Fraser River landslide: DFO

Salmon expected to begin arriving soon at Fraser River landslide: DFO
Parts of a pneumatic fish pump dubbed the "salmon cannon" have arrived at the site of a massive landslide along British Columbia's Fraser River, where Fisheries and Oceans Canada expects some salmon to begin arriving soon.

Salmon expected to begin arriving soon at Fraser River landslide: DFO

Legal experts weigh in on Meng Wanzhou decision from B.C. Supreme Court

Legal experts weigh in on Meng Wanzhou decision from B.C. Supreme Court
A loss in court for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has prompted another round of legal arguments in her attempt to avoid extradition to the United States on fraud charges.

Legal experts weigh in on Meng Wanzhou decision from B.C. Supreme Court