The COVID-19 pandemic continued to dampen home sales across Greater Vancouver and the rest of the province in May, according to BCREA data released June 15.

The total dollar value of all home sales across Greater Vancouver was $1.57 billion in May, which is a 41.9% drop compared to the $2.7 billion in sales registered in the same month last year. Active listings were down 31% year-over-year, at 10,657.

Despite the drop in sales and listings, prices still nudged upward. The average sale price for homes across the region was $1,041,380 in May. This is 2.9% higher than May 2019.

Total sales across British Columbia were $3.3 billion last month, which is 43.5% lower than the $5.8 billion registered in the same month last year. The average sale price in the province was $728,898 – an annual increase of 3.2%.

Provincially, 4,518 homes were sold in May. While this is down 45.2% compared with 8,244 sales in May 2019, it is up from just over 3,200 homes sold in April. This increase, according to BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson, offers a glimmer of hope for the industry.

“There were encouraging signs of recovery in May,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “While activity is still far below normal, both sales and listings are up significantly from April’s lows.”

Click here for more details.

BCREA Total Greater Vancouver Home Sales Down 42% in May by Emma Crawford Hampel | BIV