Frenzied pace of home sales slows in Vancouver, Calgary in August

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the city’s home sales have slowed from a frenzied pace earlier this year, but supply has dwindled all summer, and prices are continuing to rise.

The board says August home sales in the region totalled 3,152, a 3.4% increase from 3,047 last August but a 5.2% decrease from 3,326 in July.

The board says sales last month were about 20% higher than the 10-year August sales average.

The month saw 4,032 new listings, down 30.6% from 5,813 last August and off 7.9% from 4,377 in July.

The board says its multiple listing service composite benchmark price for all residential properties reached $1,176,600 in August, up 13.2% from the same period last year and a 0.1% increase from July.

The board’s economist Keith Stewart says the figures indicate that housing supply has become one of the biggest issues facing the market.

“August was busier than expected, and listings activity isn’t keeping up with the pace of demand,” he says in a release.

“This is leaving the market under supplied.”

The Calgary Real Estate Board says home sales have slowed from the record-setting pace seen in that city earlier this year but rose on a year-over-year basis in August.

The Alberta board says 2,151 homes were sold in Calgary last month, up almost 37% from 1,574 in August 2020 but down from 2,319 in July.

The market has seen 19,516 sales this year, a rise from 10,044 at the same time last year.

New listings for the month amounted to 2,822, up about 9% from 2,578 last August and down from 3,296 in July.

The average price of a home also climbed to $488,043 in August from $470,271 during the same month last year.

The board’s chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says the figures demonstrate that sales have exceeded expectations, but supply could not keep pace.

“Conditions shifted to favour the seller, something that has not happened in over six years,” she said in a news release.

“With more buyers than sellers, prices rose, providing opportunity for many of the move-up buyers in the market. Over the past several months we have seen some adjustments in supply relative to sales, helping move us toward more balanced conditions.”