The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales picked up between February and March but are still down from a year ago.

The B.C. board says last month's sales totalled 4,344, a 27 per cent increase from 3,424 homes sold in February 2022 and a 24 per cent decrease from the 5,708 sales recorded in March 2021.

The board attributed some of the decrease to March 2021 being the highest selling month in its history, but noted that last month’s sales were still 25.5 per cent above the 10-year March sales average.

The month also brought 6,673 new listings, a roughly 20 per cent drop from 8,287 a year ago but a 22 per cent increase from 5,471 in February.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in the area sat at more than $1.3 million last month, a 20.7 per cent increase from last March and a 3.6 per cent climb from February 2022.

Board chair Daniel John says the numbers indicate the market is experiencing a much calmer pace than it saw last year, but activity and prices remain elevated.

“We’re still seeing upward pressure on prices across all housing categories in the region. Lack of supply is driving this pressure,” John said, in a statement.

“The number of homes listed for sale on our MLS system today is less than half of what’s needed to shift the market into balanced territory.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2022.