Vancouver housing prices will decline 6.5% in 2012 as inventory rises and sales fall, according to Royal LePage's market forecast released this morning.
"We do expect overall house prices to cool in the second half of the year," said Chris Simmons, broker and owner of Royal LePage Westside & City Centre.
According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey, the average price of a detached bungalow in Vancouver is up 6.0% year-over-year to $1,087,000, while the average price of a two-storey home is up 5.8% to $1,178,750. Average condo prices climbed $1.6% year-over-year to $507,000.
Bill Brinnie, broker and owner of Royal LePage North Shore, noted that those price increases occurred earlier this year rather than in the second quarter and that market activity has been cooling since.
He said the city is seeing reduced activity from Chinese buyers who had been active in the upper-end of the market and that the condominium market has been struggling.
He added that the federal government's recent move to tighten access to insured mortgages will further dampen Vancouver's housing activity.
