Vancouver-area home sales surge in October amid lower borrowing costs: real estate board

GreaterVancouverRealtors says home sales in the region jumped 31.9 per cent in October compared with the same month last year, marking potential early signs of a long-awaited rebound after the Bank of Canada's four consecutive cuts to its key interest rate.

The real estate board says there were 2,632 sales of existing residential homes last month, which is just 5.5 per cent below the 10-year average after months of tracking approximately 20 per cent below those trends.

It says there were 5,452 newly listed properties in October, up 16.9 per cent from last year and 20 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

The total number of listings stood at 14,477. That's 26.2 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

The board's director of economics and data analytics, Andrew Lis, says it was "only a matter of time until signs of renewed strength in demand showed up," as the October sales figures suggest buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines may finally be responding to lower borrowing costs.

The composite benchmark price sat at $1,172,200, down 1.9 per cent from October 2023 and 0.6 per cent from September.

The areas and municipalities covered by Greater Vancouver Realtors are Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.

Fraser Valley home sales up

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) sayshome sales in its region have increased for the first time in months, creditinga recent Bank of Canadainterest rate cut of 3.75 per cent.

More than 1,300 home sales were recorded in October, the board says, up 35 per cent from September and 37 per cent year-over-year.

"Buyers seem to be finally responding to the series of successive rate cuts by the Bank of Canada,"FVRED Chair Jeff Chadhasaid in a media release. "Whether this is an indication of further sales trends, remains to be seen, especially as the feds eye a possible additional cut before year-end."

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board coversAbbotsford, Langley, Mission, North Delta, Surreyand White Rock.