The Metro Vancouver* housing market saw increased supply from home sellers and below average demand from home buyers in February.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,484 in February 2019, a 32.8 per cent decrease from the 2,207 sales recorded in February 2018, and a 34.5 per cent increase from the 1,103 homes sold in January 2019.

Last month’s sales were 42.5 per cent below the 10-year February sales average.

“For much of the past four years, we’ve been in a sellers’ market. Conditions have shifted over the last 12 months to favour buyers, particularly in the detached home market,” Phil Moore, REBGV president said. “This means that home buyers face less competition today, have more selection to choose from and more time to make their decisions.”

Click here for the full report.

Spring is almost here and with it, spring cleaning! This season marks a fantastic opportunity to clear the clutter from your home and get a fresh start on the rest of the year. Take this chance to get a jumpstart on your spring cleaning so that when those warmer temperatures and longer days come, you will have more time to enjoy them! These three commonly cluttered spots are a great place to get started on your spring cleaning.

Make Your Entryway Guest-Ready

Between shoes, newspapers, jackets, and more, it is easy to unintentionally turn your entryway into an obstacle course. Try to pare back the items in your entryway so that only the frequently used essentials remain. For those with impressive shoe collections that tend to find themselves scattered around your front door, a shoe rack is definitely worth the investment. For another easy decluttering win, be sure to move off-season jackets and clothing items into a closet for later use.

Purge Your Closets

Purging your closets can be one of the most challenging parts of spring cleaning. Years of clothing items being tucked away out of sight and out of mind can add up! A great way to start is by taking all of the clothes out of your closet and going through each item one by one. If you find any items that haven’t been used in years, it is probably safe to donate them to someone who will. Another great tip is to give your closet a good deep clean after it has been emptied!

Clear Out the Garage

If your garage is beginning to look like an episode of Hoarders, now is the perfect time to change that! Use this opportunity to take a deep dive into your garage’s clutter and find any unneeded items to clear from your garage. Protip: gloves are always recommended when sorting through a garage’s clutter in case of any sharp objects (or spiders!).

Here’s hoping everyone has a wonderful spring!

Stats are calculated comparing February 2019 to February 2018 .

To see more information on local stats in Tri-Cities, please click here.