The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says January home sales were more than halved from the year before and down 21 per cent from December.

The board says sales for the month totalled 1,022, a 55 per cent drop from the prior January.

The number of homes that changed hands last month was also 42.9 per cent below the 10-year January sales average.

The board attributed the quiet month to mortgage rates, which have risen rapidly over the last year and weighed on homebuyer intentions.

It found the region's composite benchmark price was more than $1.1 million, a 6.6 per cent decrease over January 2022 and a 0.3 per cent fall compared with December 2022.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on its listing service is 7,478, a 32.1 per cent increase compared with January 2022 and a 1.3 per cent increase compared with December 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2023.