Home prices across Metro Vancouver continued their slow decline in March, according to new figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
The board reported both year-over-year and month-to-month declines across all housing types for the month.
According to the board’s latest report, the benchmark price of a detached home now sits at $1.43 million, down 10.5 per cent from March 2018 and down 0.4 per cent from February 2019.
The benchmark price of a condo now sits at $656,900, down 5.9 per cent from March 2018 and down 0.5 per cent from February 2019.
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Townhouse prices are also on the decline with a benchmark price of $783,600, down six per cent from March 2018 and 0.7 per cent from February 2019.
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The slide in prices comes as sales dipped to 46.3 per cent below the 10-year March sales average, marking the lowest number of sales since 1986.
Sales did see a slight spring bump, rising 16.4 per cent from February 2019.
The REBGV has pinned the slide on government intervention.
“Housing demand today isn’t aligning with our growing economy and low unemployment rates. The market trends we’re seeing are largely policy-induced,” said REBGV president Ashley Smith in a media release.
“For three years, governments at all levels have imposed new taxes and borrowing requirements onto the housing market.”
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Smith argued that government interventions aren’t actually reducing demand, just kicking it further into the future.
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The data also points to a growing inventory of homes with the total number of homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) up 52.4 per cent compared to March 2018.
New numbers from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board also show a spring bump in sales but a 26.6 per cent decline over March 2018, representing the weakest March since 2013.
The benchmark price of a detached home in the valley sat at $963,100 in March, down 4.2 per cent over March 2018 but up 0.4 per cent from February.
For condos, the benchmark price sat at $418,000, down 5.1 per cent from March 2018 but up two per cent from February.
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