Author: Kirsten Mason

This Market Intelligence Housing report was created by BCREA in October 2021. You can find the full report here.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for housing surged across BC despite a severe recession and closed borders. As a result of the crisis and lockdowns, homebuyers prioritized square footage over characteristics such as proximity to the urban core. This preference shift generated considerable relocation demand as square footage could be more easily purchased in smaller, less densely populated regions. Home prices rose in smaller markets, which did not have adequate housing supply to absorb the large and sudden increase in demand.

In this Market Intelligence, we use a novel modelling approach to estimate the total number of interested buyers over the course of the pandemic and highlight which regions suffered the most severe imbalances of supply and demand.

Summary Findings:
The unusual circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic produced an unexpected and substantial increase in housing demand while the supply of listings fell.

As a result, buyers outnumbered sellers by as much as 2.5 to 1 in some months with markets in Victoria and the Fraser Valley seeing more than 7 potential buyers for every seller.

While demand has normalized somewhat, most provincial markets remain severely under-supplied and therefore far from balanced.

Interior
A major theme observed during the pandemic was the relocation of buyers into less densely populated areas of the province. That trend is evident in our estimates for demand in BC’s Interior. Like all of BC, the buyer-toseller ratio in the Interior trended at a lower level prior to the pandemic following the introduction of the B20 mortgage stress test in 2018. During the pandemic the ratio briefly fell before surging to record levels. It then receded as frenetic market activity, rapidly rising prices, and dwindling supply may have discouraged potential buyers.

Interestingly, markets in the Okanagan and Kamloops are estimated to have had a much more acute imbalance of supply and demand during the pandemic compared to the Kootenay. In those markets, we estimated that during the peak months of market activity, buyers outnumbered sellers by as much as 3 to 1.

Click here to visit to BCREA’s website. To view other statistics for the Kamloops and BC real estate market click here.

If you want to be kept informed on Kamloops Real Estate, News and more visit our Facebook Page.

To search for Kamloops real estate and homes for sale click here.

Vancouver, BC – October 12, 2021. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,164 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September 2021, a decrease of 19.9 per cent from September 2020. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $913,471, a 14 per cent increase from $801,241 recorded in September 2020. Total sales dollar volume was $8.4 billion, an 8.6 per cent decline from last year.

“Home sales have settled at levels that are slightly above long-term average,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “The main story in all markets continues to be a severe lack of listings supply, particularly in Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Interior markets.”

Total active residential listings were down 36.8 per cent year-over-year in September for the province as a whole and were more than more than 50 per cent below last September’s levels in the Fraser Valley and Victoria.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 81.8 per cent to $90.4 billion, compared to the same period in 2020. Residential unit sales were up 52.4 per cent to 99,182 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 19.3 per cent to $911,195.

Click here to visit to BCREA’s website. To view other statistics for the Kamloops and BC real estate market click here.

If you want to be kept informed on Kamloops Real Estate, News and more visit our Facebook Page.

To search for Kamloops real estate and homes for sale click here.