VANCOUVER – Realtors are predicting a steep decline in detached-home sales when the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver releases sales data for the month of September later today.
The numbers are expected to give further insight into the effects of British Columbia’s foreign-buyers tax, which came into effect Aug. 2 after the market was already starting to cool.
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Overall home sales dropped 26 per cent in August compared with the same month in 2015 and the board said it marked a return to historically normal levels.
Realtor Steve Saretsky says he’s already crunched the numbers for September and sales of detached homes in particular are continuing to decline dramatically.
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He says detached-home sales on Vancouver’s east side fell to their lowest in 10 years, while the expensive west side fell to 2008 levels and Greater Vancouver as a whole dropped to 2012 levels.
But real estate agent Adil Dinani says the condominium and townhome markets continue to be active, with multiple offers and sales over listing price still relatively common.