Vancouver Realtors predict sales data for September will show dramatic decline

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.

Dinani, an agent with Royal LePage, says the 15-per-cent foreign buyer tax added to uncertainty in the real estate market, causing investors and speculators to step aside.

“When there’s uncertainty, generally people pull back and they take a ‘wait and see’ approach. That’s what we’re seeing now,” he says.

The activity in the lower-end condominium and townhouse markets appears to show that there’s still interest among first-time buyers to get into real estate, he says.

Saretsky, a Realtor with Sutton West Coast, says average prices of detached homes might have gone up slightly in September but overall they are down 17 per cent from a peak in January.

The real estate board prefers to use benchmark price, which is a representation of the typical home in an area. The benchmark price for a detached home fell slightly in August to $1.57 million.

The board represents a large portion of Metro Vancouver, including Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond, but excludes some major suburbs including Surrey and Langley.

Premier Christy Clark has said the aim of the tax on foreign buyers was to cool off Metro Vancouver’s overheated housing market.

On Monday, the federal government introduced a pair of new housing measures that could have an impact on Vancouver’s market in the months to come.

As of Oct. 17, all insured mortgages will have to undergo stress tests to determine whether borrowers will still be able to make payments if interest rates rise or they lose their jobs.

The federal government also limited to Canadian residents a tax exemption for capital gains made when homeowners sell their primary residences.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Vancouver Realtors predict sales data for September will show dramatic decline

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