Housing prices in Greater Vancouver are falling, according to the latest Royal LePage survey.

The house price survey, released Thursday, showed a 5.2% drop in prices for housing in the region — comparing July, August and September of 2019 with the same three months in 2018.

Breaking the prices down into suburb and housing type, Royal LePage found the only winners were owners of Langley condos and two-storey detached homes in North Vancouver. Langley condos went up 2.2%, while North Vancouver two-storey homes went up 0.4%.

The big losers were owners of condos in West Vancouver, who saw the median value of their properties fall 16.8% to $1.07 million. Across Greater Vancouver, bungalow owners experienced the largest year-over-year price declines during the third quarter.

The value of a bellwether detached bungalow in the City of Vancouver fell 4.9% to $1.384 million.

“Buyers are in control in the detached market,” said Royal LePage Sterling Realty general manager Randy Ryalls in a statement. “Sellers have to embrace the new market reality to get things done.”

This is the first time in at least five years that the Royal LePage survey has reported an overall decline in average property values in Greater Vancouver. Last October, the agency reported a 3.9% increase in prices (comparing third quarter 2018 to the same in 2017.) In 2017, the reported price increase was 2.5%, 30.6 per cent in 2016 and 12.9% in 2015.

The latest survey shows that nationally the median price of a home in Canada rose 1.4% in the third quarter of 2019 compared to 2018.

Ryalls predicted that market conditions would improve for sellers.

“Higher inventory levels in some areas are offering buyers multiple options to choose from. They are not in a rush,” he said. However, “these days may be coming to an end.

“Greater numbers of buyers are taking advantage of favourable market conditions and excellent mortgage rates, leading to what appears to be a solid footing in our price correction. Low unemployment, wage growth and pent-up demand are contributing to a change in market conditions that we should see emerge in the coming months.”

Metro Vancouver Housing Prices Head South, as Prices Nationally Head North by David Carrigg | Vancouver Sun