Home sales in Richmond dropped last month – following a trend seen across Metro Vancouver, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
Overall supply also remains low in Metro Vancouver, causing home prices to edge up, the REBGV said.
In Richmond, there were 339 home sales last month (detached, attached and apartments), down from 386 in December 2021, but up from January 2021’s 227 sales.
Meanwhile, new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 548 in Richmond in January, down from January 2021’s 596 listings, but up from December 2021’s 275.
Across Metro Vancouver, sales fell from last year’s “record-setting pace,” according to the REBGV. Last month, there were 2,285 residential home sales, a 4.4 per cent drop from the 2,389 sales recorded in January 2021 and a 15 per cent decrease from the 2,688 sales in December 2021.
Keith Stewart, REBGV economist, said the listing inventory on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is “less than half of what is optimal” at the start of the year, meaning home buyers have limited choice in the market.
“The trend is causing fierce competition for a scarce number of homes for sale, which, in turn, increases prices,” he said.
“As we approach spring, we’ll keep a close eye on the impact of rising interest rates on buyers’ willingness to buy and on whether more homeowners will opt to become sellers in what’s traditionally the busiest season of the year.”
The composite benchmark price for all residential homes in Richmond is $1,154,400, a 1.9 per cent increase from December and a 17.8 per cent increase from January 2021.
The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,225,200, a two per cent increase over December 2021 and a 18.5 per cent increase over January 2021.
