House prices dropping: Vancouver Real Estate January 2012

Existing homes sales in the Vancouver area fell last month and the average price dropped slightly, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.

The number of sales in the area declined by 4.1 per cent in December, while the average price eased by two per cent to $734,766, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the real-estate association said.

The average home price in Vancouver has been easing since last July, a trend that pushed the Vancouver average below its year-ago mark for the first time since June 2009, Royal Bank of Canada said in a commentary.

“The earlier troubling surge in prices in Vancouver is so far unwinding in an orderly fashion – although very strained affordability in this market will maintain intense stress on local homebuyers in the near term,” the bank said.

Nationally, existing homes sales rose slightly last month, while the average sale price declined, offering more evidence that the once hot market is cooling under pressure from a slowing economy, tighter mortgage rules and anxiety about global financial troubles.

The association said 39,740 homes changed hands in December, up 1.8 per cent from a month earlier, using seasonally adjusted calculations. The number of listings rose three per cent from November.

Actual sales rose 4.6 per cent from December 2010.

The average sale price was $358,480, down 0.9 per cent from November on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Source: The Province, Reuters

Image: wmberris

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