B.C. housing market cooling, but June prices up 22 per cent from 2020
Douglas Todd
The Vancouver Sun
The largest June year-to-year price increases were recorded by real estate boards in Vancouver Island, the Interior and the Fraser Valley.
The B.C. real estate market is starting to normalize, said the B.C. Real Estate Association, which released June sales and listings figures for real estate boards across B.C. on Monday. Photo by Graeme Roy/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Home sales across B.C. are still seeing above-average activity, but it has began to normalize, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).
About 11,070 home sales were recorded on MLS in June, an increase of nearly 35 per cent compared to June last year.
But total home listings were down 23 per cent compared to last June.
“As expected, housing market activity is calming to start the second half of 2021,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a statement. “That said, while down from record highs earlier this year, home sales across the province remain well above long-run average levels.”
The slow down in the real-estate market hasn’t cooled down prices, which saw a 22 per cent jump to $910,445 last month, compared to the $745,194 recorded in June 2020.
The largest year-to-year price increases were recorded by real-estate boards in Vancouver Island, the Interior and the Fraser Valley.
Powell River home prices soared nearly 36 per cent to $567,231, compared to last June’s $418,137 .
The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association and the Association of Interior Realtors recorded a nearly 29 per cent increase in residential prices, while in the Lower Mainland, Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley saw average home prices go up to $697,250 and $979,521 respectively — an approximately 25 per cent gain compared to the previous June.
Year-over-year listings for June dipped 23 per cent across the province.
At 2,726 units, the number of active residential listings in the Interior is nearly 48 per cent less than last year’s 5,212.
Listings in Vancouver Island also saw a 37 per cent drop in areas covered by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board, and nearly 50 per cent in Victoria, while Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley recorded decreases in listings of 39.5 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
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