Vancouver real estate: early September numbers show steep drop in sales from August highs
[Georgia Straight – September 25, 2020]
Home sales in the city of Vancouver are dropping big time. This is based on tracking by real-estate site fisherly.com as of late morning Friday (September 25).
Compared to record highs in August, early numbers for September show a steep decline in transactions. In August, a total of 490 condo units sold in Vancouver.
As of this posting September 25, fisherly.com recorded 202 condo sales so far this month. Last month, 212 detached homes changed owners.
September sales so far show 114 freestanding houses sold in the city. As for townhouses, 99 sold in August. As of September 25, only 49 townhouses have been purchased.
Vancouver home sales peaked in August, following a steady recovery that started in May. Transactions crashed in April during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
RBC Economics previously issued a report noting that pent-up demand for homes drove real estate sales in the country this summer. However, according to the bank’s report, this demand is largely spent, and that the market’s momentum is expected to decelerate in the fall.
The Canadian Real Estate Association has forecast that after its highs and lows, 2020 may likely end up as a “fairly middling year overall”. It remains to be seen whether the Vancouver market will stage a late September rally to boost numbers.
