BC's housing market remains slow, but sales still bringing in billions | Daily Hive

EB Adventure Photography/Shutterstock

According to the latest housing report from the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA), home sales in BC remain slow and active listings have plateaued.

However, sales have still reached nearly $74 billion year-to-date.

A total of 5,242 residential unit sales were recorded last month, a decrease of 45.5% compared to October 2021.

Average prices have also fallen in most jurisdictions.

You might also like:

The average residential price in BC was $939,979 last month, a decrease of 3.1% ($963,011) compared to October 2021. Total sales dollar volume was also down by nearly half (47.2%), reaching $4.9 billion.

“Sales activity remains slow across the province, and inventories appear to be plateauing,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson in a statement.

“While prices have fallen from peak levels reached in early 2022, average prices have recently levelled off.”

The sales dollar volume isn’t only down year-over-year, it’s also down year-to-date by 26.3%, currently sitting at $73.3 billion, compared to $99.5 billion at this point last year.

Meanwhile, year-to-date home sales were down 33% to 72,824 units in BC, while the average residential price was up 10% to $1.01 million.

Unit sales are down in every jurisdiction except for Powell River, which has seemingly been a popular place to move to.

BCREA

While prices are down year-over-year in most BC locales, there are a few notable exceptions.

The aforementioned Powell River saw an increase (9.3%) in the residential average home price. Vancouver Island also saw prices go up, as did Greater Vancouver. Prices fell the sharpest in Chilliwack (-11.9%).

Year-to-date, the Greater Vancouver region also saw the most significant volume in sales, hitting $33.7 billion.