Home prices have dropped in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

This comes in the wake of rising interest rates, with further increases expected through 2022.

The Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley real-estate boards released their respective monthly reports a day after the Bank of Canada on Wednesday (June 1) hiked its interest-setting rate by 0.5 percent.

This was the third increase in 2022, which brought the central bank’s key rate to 1.5 percent.

The Greater Vancouver real-estate board reported on Thursday (June 2) that the composite benchmark price for all residential properties went down month-over-month in May.

The typical price stood at $1,261,100, marking a 0.3 percent decrease compared to April 2022.

However, on an annual basis, the price represents a 14.7 percent increase over May 2021.

The board covers Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Whistler.

“With interest rates rising, home buyers are taking more time to make their decisions in today’s housing market,” board chair Daniel John said in a media release.

John also noted that upward pressure on home prices has “begun to ease in the housing market over the last two months”.

“Where home prices go next will depend on housing supply,” John also said.

Greater Vancouver home sales totalled 2,918 in May 2022.

The sales represent a 31.6 percent decrease from the 4,268 sales recorded in May 2021, and a 9.7 percent decrease from the 3,232 homes sold in April 2022.

The benchmark price of a detached home in the region in May 2022 was $2,093,600, down 0.4 percent from April and up 15 percent from May 2021.

The benchmark price of an apartment was $779,700, up 0.4 percent from April 2022 and 15 percent more compared to May 2021.

Attached homes had a typical price in May 2022 of $1,141,200. That’s 0.6 percent down from April 2022 and 21.5 percent up from May 2021.

Meanwhile, the real-estate board of Fraser Valley covers Abbotsford, Langley, Mission, North Delta, Surrey, and White Rock.

In its June 2 report, the board noted falling sales.

Realtors in the region sold 1,360 properties in May 2022.

That number represents a 16.9 percent decline from April sales of 1,637, and a decrease of 53.9 percent compared to May of 2021.

The Bank of Canada started hiking its rates in March, following it up with a second in April and a third on June 1.

“Since March, we’ve seen sales come down with an accompanying increase in inventory, subsequently restoring much-needed balance and cooling our heated market,” Sandra Benz, chair of the Fraser Valley board, said in a media release.

Benz continued, “While still early, it suggests that as we gradually settle into a post-pandemic state of work and life, the big pandemic-era drivers – working from home and record low interest rates – may have run their course.”

The Fraser Valley board noted that in May 2022, the benchmark prices for all three main property types decreased month-over-month for the first time since September 2019.

The price of a typical detached home in the region in May stood at $1,712,500, down 2.4 percent compared to April 2022 and up 26.2 percent compared to May 2021.

It was $918,900 for townhouses, a decrease of 1.4 per cent compared to April 2022 and a 31.3 percent increase compared to May 2021.

For apartments, the benchmark price in May 2022 was $581,400, down 1.1 percent compared to April 2022 and up 30 percent compared to May 2021.

“The softening of prices will be welcome news for homebuyers, especially in the face of rising mortgage rates,” said Fraser Valley board CEO Baldev Gill.