June home sales in Greater Vancouver surge 64 per cent: real estate board

Real estate sales activity and prices jumped in the Lower Mainland in June, as the province continued to ease up on COVID-19 restrictions.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales were up 17.6 per cent year-over-year last month, and a whopping 64.5 per cent up from May 2020.

The 2,443 homes sold in June are also more than double the 1,109 sales registered in April, at the peak of pandemic restrictions.

However, sales volume remained nearly 22 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.

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The REBGV attributed the uptick in activity to realtors’ new virtual tools and the public’s greater confidence in physical distancing and safety protocols.

Home prices have begun edging upward as well.

The benchmark price for a detached home in the region was $1.46 million in June, up 3.6 per cent year-over-year and 0.5 per cent from May 2020.

The benchmark price of a condo was $680,000 in June, also up 3.6 year-over-year, though down 0.8 per cent from May.