Prospective home buyers remain on the sidelines in March
Metro Vancouver home sales dipped to the lowest levels seen in March in more than three decades.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,727 in March 2019, a 31.4 per cent decrease from the 2,517 sales recorded in March 2018, and a 16.4 per cent increase from the 1,484 homes sold in February 2019.
Last month’s sales were 46.3 per cent below the 10-year March sales average and was the lowest total for the month since 1986.
“Housing demand today isn’t aligning with our growing economy and low unemployment rates. The market trends we’re seeing are largely policy induced,” Ashley Smith, REBGV president said. “For three years, governments at all levels have imposed new taxes and borrowing requirements on to the housing market.”
“What policymakers are failing to recognize is that demand-side measures don’t eliminate...