BCREA Housing Market Update July 2018
BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Deputy Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson discusses the June 2018 statistics.
Category: B.C. Real Estate News
British Columbia Real Estate News Stories And Articles
A Return to Balance for BC Housing Market, BCREA
Vancouver, BC – July 13, 2018. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,884 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across the province in June, a 32.5 per cent decrease from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $716,326, down 1.3 per cent from June 2017. Total sales dollar volume was $5.6 billion, a 33 per cent decline from June 2017.
“The impact of the B20 stress test is still being felt across the province,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Deputy Chief Economist. “Lower demand as the result of higher mortgage rates and stringent mortgage qualification rules are bringing most markets around the province back into balanced conditions.”
Although the supply of active listings in the province is on the rise, inventory remains low by historical standards and markets like Vancouver Island and the Okanagan remain undersupplied.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 18 per cent to $32 billion, compared with the same period in 2017. Residential unit sales decreased 20 per cent to 43,863 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 2.4 per cent to $730,492.
BCREA Housing Market Update for June 2018
BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Chief Economist Cameron Muir discusses the June 2018 statistics.
Click here for a link to BCREA’s monthly Market Update.
Mortgage Policy Changes Hit Affordability Hard, BCREA
While it appears that the market in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley is slowing we have not noticed much of that slow down in Kamloops. The inventory has picked up slightly however homes continue to sell quickly. Multiple offers in Kamloops are still commonplace and there are still a number of buyers out looking for homes. Properly priced properties that are desirable continue to sell. We do see collapsed sales due to financing in Kamloops however it is not necessarily the tightening of the mortgage rules rather Buyer’s not being prepared and well informed.
BCREA’s Publication Below:
Vancouver, BC – June 15, 2018. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,837 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across the province in May, a 28.7 per cent decrease from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $739,783, down 1.7 per cent from May 2017. Total sales dollar volume was $6.54 billion, a 30 per cent decline from May 2017.
“BC home sales continued to slow in May because of more stringent qualifications for conventional borrowers,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The changes in mortgage policy are taking their toll on housing demand, not only in British Columbia, but across the country by reducing household purchasing power and housing affordability.”While the decline in consumer demand has lifted the inventory of homes for sale, total active residential listings in the province are still relatively low by historical comparison.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 13.8 per cent to $26.4 billion, compared with the same period in 2017. Residential unit sales decreased 16.6 per cent to 35,976 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 3.4 per cent to $733,616.