Housing Demand Improves in July
Housing Demand Improves in July
Vancouver, BC – August 13, 2019. The British Columbia Real Estate Association
(BCREA) reports that a total of 7,930 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple
Listing Service® (MLS®) in July, an increase of 12.4 per cent from the same month last
year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $684,497, a decline of 1.6
per cent from July 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $5.43 billion, a 10.5 per cent
increase from the same month last year.
“BC home sales climbed higher
for the first time in 18 months
on a year-over-year basis in
July,” said BCREA Chief
Economist Cameron Muir.
Housing demand has also
trended higher since March,
rising 21 per cent on a
seasonally adjusted basis.
“Households appear to be
adjusting to the tighter credit
environment as the shock of
the B20 stress test dissipates.”
MLS® residential active listings in the province trended lower in July, down 3 per cent
from June and 6 per cent from April on a seasonally adjusted basis. Active listings were
up 12.4 per cent to 41,621 units on a year-over year basis, while overall market
conditions remained unchanged from 12 months ago with the sales-to-active listings
ratio at 19.1 per cent.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 18.9 per cent to $30 billion,
compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales decreased 14.4 per cent
to 43,612 units, while the average MLS® residential price was down 5.3 per cent to
$687,413.
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