VANCOUVER — Vancouver home sales activity fell again in May as buyers continued to sit on the sidelines, the city's real estate board said Tuesday.
Residential sales in the region totalled 2,228 last month, an 18.5 per cent drop from the same month a year earlier, Greater Vancouver Realtors said. Sales levels are 30.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.
“While there are emerging signs that sales activity might be turning a corner, sales in May were below the ten-year seasonal average, which suggests that some buyers are still sitting on the sidelines or are being especially selective,” said Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics.
There were 6,620 newly listed properties on the market in May, a 3.9 per cent increase from May 2024, but still 9.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average for the month.
Economic uncertainty and threats to global trade has soured consumer confidence in recent months, with many potential buyers holding back on major financial decisions — pushing up the average time a property spends on the market before it's sold.
The report showed average days a property was on the market rose across all categories in May. A detached home spent an average of 32 days on the market last month, compared with 26 days in the same month last year, for example.
Total active listings rose 25.7 per cent year-over-year to 17,094.
Lis said these have been some of the healthiest levels of inventory the market has seen in years, making it more favourable for buyers.
"Many sellers are adjusting price expectations, which has provided buyers more negotiating room and kept a firm lid on price escalation over the past few months," he said in a release.
The composite benchmark price in May was $1,177,100, down 2.9 per cent from a year earlier and 0.6 per cent lower than April.
Lis added sales could pick up in the summer months.
"From a seasonal perspective, sales in the summer months are typically quieter than the spring, but with such an unusually slow spring, we may have an unusually busy summer with so many having delayed their purchasing decisions," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
The Canadian Press
