Vancouver-area home sales in April down 16.5% from same month a year ago, real estate board says

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says April home sales slid 16.5 per cent compared to the same month a year ago as new listings remained below historical norms.

The board says sales for the month totalled 2,741, almost 16 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver hit $1,170,700 last month, down 7.4 per cent from a year ago but up 2.4 per cent from March.

There were 4,307 new listings last month, a 29.7 per cent decrease when compared with the prior April and a 22 per cent drop from the 10-year seasonal average of 5,525.

But the board sees the numbers as a sign that home sales are staging a comeback and headed toward levels seen last spring before eight consecutive interest rate hikes were carried out.

The rate hikes eroded buying power and sent buyers to the sidelines, but the board believes a shift is underway.

"The fact we are seeing prices rising and sales rebounding this spring tells us homebuyers are returning with confidence after a challenging year for our market, with mortgage rates roughly doubling," Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, said in a news release.

The municipalities and areas covered by the REBGV are: Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.