The number of single-family homes sold in Richmond almost doubled in October compared to the same month last year.
Last month, 95 single-family homes were sold, compared to 40 in October 2023.
Townhouse and apartment sales also rose somewhat, with 57 townhouses and 138 apartments sold.
This compares to last October when there were 40 townhouse sales and 126 apartment sales.
Benchmark prices continue to fall
Home prices in the city have continued to drop since last year, with lower interest rates and a surge in demand driving sales before the holidays, according to a Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) report.
For October, the benchmark price for all types of homes in Richmond sat at $1,145,300, dropping by $15,700 since September.
Prices for October also fell on a year-to-year basis by 2.6 per cent, and 3.7 per cent in the last six months.
In the last 10 years, prices for all types of homes in Richmond have increased by 78.3 per cent.
Prices for single-family detached homes also fell from September to October by $32,300 to $2,135,700.
Year-over-year, prices for these homes have seen a slight decrease of one per cent and 3.2 per cent in the last six months.
Overall, however, single-family detached homes have increased in value by 91.5 per cent in the last 10 years – this is the lowest increase of a specific home type in Richmond for this time period.
The benchmark price for townhouses also declined from September to October by $22,400 to $1,127,000.
However, like in September, this is the only property type that has seen an increase in the last year at 1.2 per cent.
In the last six months, townhouse prices have dropped by 2.4 per cent. In the past 10 years, however, townhouse prices have increased by 124.1 per cent.
Lastly, the benchmark price for apartments has remained somewhat stable, only falling by $1,800 since September and sitting at $735,800.
Prices for apartments fell by 1.5 per cent year-over-year and 3.3 per cent in the last six months. This property type has seen the highest increase across the board in the last 10 years at 127.6 per cent.
Lower prices and increased sales can be attributed to low interest rates and an accumulation in inventory, said RE/MAX real estate advisor Tim Hill.
“Inventory has been accumulating this year because sales numbers have been down as a whole,” said Hill. “We've seen the (interest) rates increasing across the last couple of years, and now they're slowly starting to decrease… so buyers actually have more choice today than they had in the past.”
This hike in the supply is putting downward pressure on prices, Hill added.
Number of listings also increases since last year
In October, listings of homes for sale in Richmond rose to 172 single-family, 131 townhouses and 280 apartment listings compared to last year, which had 140 detached, 94 attached and 242 apartments.
In contrast, listings have decreased from 186 detached, 126 attached and 311 apartments in September, likely due to the influx in sales. This represents a decrease of 7.5 per cent in detached homes, 10 per cent in apartments, but a four per cent increase in attached homes.
Looking ahead, the market is expected to remain fairly similar until the end of the year, but a shift in pricing could happen in the next three to six months, said Hill.
“Interest rates are on a downward trend, and I expect that will increase buyer demand moving forward,” said Hill. “If we see buyer demand shift with lower interest rates, we're at the very least likely to see prices balance out.”
“Most optimistically, and I think the most likely, where we will start to see prices come up again.”
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