Vancouver Home Prices Fall Most Since 2008, Extending Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Home prices in Vancouver fell 1.9 percent in November from a month earlier, the most in a decade, extending a recent run of declines for Canada’s most expensive real estate market.

The figures suggest momentum earlier this year may have been just a blip, as consumers adjust to tougher federal mortgage qualification rules. After rebounding to a record in May, prices nationwide have dropped for six straight months, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday, and are hovering at levels little changed from mid-2017, when interest rates started to rise.

“The decline in home ownership affordability caused by this year’s new mortgage stress-test remains very much in evidence,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “While national home sales were anticipated to recover in the wake of a large drop in activity earlier this year due to the introduction of the stress-test, the rebound appears to have run its course.”

From a year earlier, prices fell 1.4 percent to C$1.04 million ($780,000), CREA reported. That was the first year-over-year decline in five years, and it slowed the nationwide price increase to 2 percent. Toronto benchmark prices advanced 2.7 percent.

Nationwide, home resales declined 2.3 percent in November from the previous month, the most since April, and are down 13 percent from a year earlier.

The realtor group also now forecasts sales to fall 0.5 percent next year. That compares with a September prediction that sales would increase by 2.1 percent.

--With assistance from Erik Hertzberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Theophilos Argitis at targitis@bloomberg.net, Chris Fournier

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