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Burnaby becoming buyer's market for detached homes

Active listings rising as fewer sales are made and prices drop
Home sale
Average Greater Vancouver home sale price grew more than 10%. Image / Richmond News Archives

The number of detached homes selling in Burnaby is dropping – and prices are following suit.

A total of 56 detached homes sold in the city last month, down from 103 in June 2017. Over the same period, the median price of a home fell from $1.65 million to $1.45 million.

At the same time, the number of active listings is on the rise.

“Buyers are less active today. This is allowing the supply of homes for sale to accumulate to levels we haven’t seen in the last few years,” said Phil Moore, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president, in a press release. “Rising interest rates, high prices and more restrictive mortgage requirements are among the factors dampening home buyer activity today.”

The market is flooded with detached house listings across the region, according to the REBGV. 

While the number of homes put on the market last month was lower than in previous months, the total number of active listings is at its highest since June 2015.

“With reduced demand, detached homes are entering a buyers’ market and price growth in our townhome and apartment markets is showing signs of decelerating,” Moore said.

The composite price of condos, townhomes and detached homes across the region has increased by 9.5 per cent since last year, but remained virtually the same between May and June this year. Burnaby saw a slightly steeper year-to-year bump, with its three areas (North, South and East) increasing by 10.2 to 11.9 per cent.

The benchmark price for a typical detached home in east Burnaby rose 6.4 per cent from June 2017 to $1.34 million, bucking the regional trend where prices remained near stagnant. North and south Burnaby benchmark home prices are slightly lower than the year before at $1.54 million and $1.71 million respectively.

With files from Joannah Connolly