VANCOUVER — The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board says home sales across the region in September plunged more than 40 per compared with the same month last year.
Statistics from the board show 1,595 homes changed hands in Metro Vancouver last month, a 43.5 per cent drop from the 2,821 sales recorded in September 2017.
The board says the result for last month also marked a 17.3 per cent decline when compared with sales in August.
September sales in Metro Vancouver were also 36 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.
A news release from the real estate board says more homes were listed across Metro Vancouver in September while demand remained below typical levels for this time of year.
Board president-elect Ashley Smith says listings are accumulating as sales slow, easing prices just over two per cent since September of last year, while the composite benchmark price for residential properties has tumbled 3.1 per cent over the last three months.
"There's more selection for home buyers to choose from today. Since spring, home listing totals have risen to levels we haven't seen in our market in four years," Smith says in the release.
"Metro Vancouver's housing market has changed pace compared to the last few years. Our townhome and apartment markets are sitting in balanced market territory and our detached home market remains in a clear buyers' market."
The total number of properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver was 13,084, a 38.2 per cent increase compared with September 2017 and a 10.7 per cent increase since August, the board says.
The benchmark price for a detached home was $1,540,900, a 4.5 per cent decrease from September 2017 and a 3.4 per cent skid over the last three months.
The benchmark price of a condominium apartment property was $687,300, marking a 7.4 per cent increase over the last year but a 3.1 per cent slide in three months.
Townhomes across the region had a benchmark price of $837,600 which the real estate board says is a 6.4 per cent increase since last September but a two per cent decline in three months.