The first two months of March were the busiest of the year before the pandemic-related falloff

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver-area home sales rose 17 per cent in March month-over-month to 2,524, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

They were up 46 per cent from a year earlier.

REBGV president Ashley Smith says, “The first two weeks of the month were the busiest days of the year” before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.

The board says sales for March were still 19.9 per cent below the 10-year average for the month as restrictions and concerns around the outbreak put pressure on activity.

CORRECTION: Vancouver-area home sales rose 17% in March from February and 46% compared to a year earlier. An earlier version reported a 17% decrease. We regret the error. @NEWS1130 — Richard Dettman (@rwdettman) April 2, 2020

Sales averaged 138 per day for the first 10 days of the month, but were down to an average of 93 a day for the last ten days, while the board notes that many sales recorded in the month were already in process before the province declared a state of emergency.

New listings were down 10.4 per cent from the same month last year to 4,436, but up 10.8 per cent from February.

The composite benchmark price was $1.03 million, up 2.1 per cent in March compared with last year.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article reported a decrease in home sales in March. It has been updated to correct home sales saw a rise in March.