Sales dollar volume almost level with one year ago, but balanced market “could emerge”
There were 9,275 home sales across the province in July, valued at a total of $6.48 billion, according to a report released August 14 by the British Columbia Real Estate Association.
That dollar volume is only 1.3% lower than that of July 2016, as the year-over-year decline in unit sales of 6.3% is largely offset by a 5.3% annual increase in the average price of a BC home, now $698,761.
“Strong economic growth, an expanding population base and a lack of supply continue to drive BC home sales and prices this summer,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist.
However, Muir added that the sales slowdown and corresponding rising inventory was easing the tough market conditions seen recently.
“Home sales have edged back 4% since May, with active listings beginning to bounce back from a 20-year low,” said Muir. “If these trends continue, it may signal that more balanced market conditions could emerge before the end of the year.”
BCREA July Stats
Nine out of the 11 BC real estate boards reported year-over-year declines in the number of July home sales, but six of the boards cited higher sales dollar volumes than the same month last year.
The biggest decline in transaction numbers was seen by the Victoria Real Estate Board, where sales have dropped 18.4% compared with the record-breaking activity of July 2016.
Every one of the 11 boards posted a year-over-year increase in average sale prices, ranging from a rise of 18.6% in Chilliwack and 18% on Vancouver Island to 2.2% in Greater Vancouver. However, it should be noted that average sale prices differ from the benchmark prices the real estate boards use to measure price trends more accurately.
National Picture
Across the whole of Canada, home sales in July fell 11.9% year over year, and 2.1% compared with the previous month, according to figures released August 15 by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The national average home price was almost flat with one year ago, at $478,696, which is 0.3% lower than July 2016 .
CREA said that sales were down in nearly two-thirds of local markets, led by the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Halifax and Ottawa.
“July’s interest rate hike may have motivated some homebuyers with pre-approved mortgages to make an offer,” said CREA President Andrew Peck. “Even so, sales activity continued to soften in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region. Meanwhile, sales and prices in Montreal continue to strengthen.”
Like in Greater Vancouver and across BC, slower sales pushed up the levels of available homes on the market.
CREA said in its report, “There were 5.2 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of July 2017, the highest level since January 2016. This was up from five months in June and up by more than a full month from where it stood in March.”
Read the full BCREA July statistics report and the full CREA July 2017 report.
