VANCOUVER — The total number of homes sold in Metro Vancouver in 2018 fell to its lowest level since 2000 as detached home prices fell nearly eight per cent over the course of the year.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says 24,619 residential properties sold last year — down 31.6 per cent from nearly 36,000 in 2017 and 25 per cent below the region's 10-year average.
The composite benchmark price for a home in the area finished the year at $1,032,400. That's a 2.7 per cent drop from December 2017.
The board says the benchmark price of a detached home fell 7.8 per cent from December 2017 to $1,479,000.
The benchmark price of a townhouse rose 1.3 per cent year-over-year to $809,700, while the benchmark price of a condominium gained 0.6 per cent to $664,100.
Board president Phil Moore says in a statement that as home supply began to accumulate in the spring it put downward pressure on home prices in the last half of 2018.