Market Intelligence for October 2020: Population Growth and Housing Demand

The latest BCREA Market Intelligence: COVID-19: Population Growth and Housing Demand examines how the sharp drop in immigration this year due to the global pandemic has impacted the BC housing market.

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Summary Findings:
Immigration is the most important driver of population growth in BC, with a growing share within the prime working-age and household-forming demographic.

The global pandemic has resulted in a sharp drop in immigration and consequently BC reporting one of the lowest quarterly increases in population growth since 2011.

In the short term, the impact of lower population growth will weigh most significantly on the rental market due to a significant reduction in international students and new permanent residents.