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Vancouver existing home sales break records in March

April 5th, 2016  |  Canadian Business

Another month, another housing record broken in Canada’s hottest real estate market. This time, more resale homes changed hands in March than ever before.

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver 5,173 homes were sold in March, smashing through February’s numbers by 24%. Even comparing year-to-year, sales went up 27.4% from 2015 and stood 56% higher than the 10-year average for the month.

In contrast there were 6,278 new listings in the city and a total 7,358 listings in total. While there is still enough supply to meet demands in the city, the narrowing gap between the two is fueling a housing market that grows at a pace that’s too much for many young first time homebuyers.

The federal government has expressed concerns about housing affordability. It has pledged half a million dollars to investigating foreign property ownership, one possible factor in the current overvaluation of the market.

The more time goes by, the more first time homebuyers are being priced out. Experts say that the chance of a housing collapse in Vancouver is unlikely to happen any time soon, but maybe the bigger concern is the lack of affordable options for the generation tasked with continuing its transformation into a world class city.