Economists say it reflects the strength of economy, expect it to continue through this year
Derrick Penner
Sun
Real estate sales remained brisk provincewide in January, the B.C. Real Estate Association reports, with total transactions up almost 13 per cent from the same month a year ago.
Realtors racked up 5,238 Multiple-Listing-Service recorded transactions in January, compared with 4,626 in January 2005.
The increase does not reflect statistics for the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, centred in Prince George, whose figures were not available at the time of the report.
“Buyers seem to have lots of confidence,” Dave Barclay, president of the B.C. Real Estate Association said in an interview. “The economy is still strong, and I think our expectations are that it’s going to remain strong throughout Canada.”
The dollar value of real estate transactions in January increased by 42.3 per cent to $1.9 billion reflecting higher prices. In a news release, the B.C. Real Estate Association said nine of its 12 member real estate boards reported double-digit increases in the value of transactions recorded in January.
The Kamloops real estate board experienced the biggest gain in sales. BCREA figures show that 199 transactions across Kamloops represented a 51 per cent increase over the same month a year ago. The value of those transactions, just under $40 million, was 96 per cent higher than January 2005.
The Fraser Valley saw the next biggest gain. The valley’s 1,089 sales represented a 38 per cent increase in units changing hands. The value of those transactions, at $404 million, was 73 per cent higher than the total value of real estate sold in the same month a year ago.
Helmut Pastrick, chief economist of Credit Union Central B.C., noted that B.C.’s real estate market slowed at the end of 2004, so 2005 got off to a sluggish start before roaring off to record levels by the end of the year.
Pastrick expects that February and March will also experience more sales than the same months of 2005, however his forecast assumes that sales in later months of 2006 will come in lower than their corresponding months a year ago.
Pastrick’s expectation is that total unit sales in 2006 to change little from 2005, or even decline by as much as two per cent.
Pastrick said that on a seasonally adjusted basis, factoring out seasonal trends, B.C.’s real estate market hit a peak in about August of 2005 and has eased off since then. However, it remains active.
“The indicators are that the housing market, in my view, is going to hold up reasonably well,” Pastrick said. “I expect the market to put together another solid year.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2006