BC Housing Market Sluggish Year to Date

BC’s provincial housing market showed signs of stabilizing in July. The month of July notched a 12% increase in home sales year-over-year (not seasonally adjusted). This was the first time sales had increased on a year-over-year basis in eighteen months. However, sales are still below historical averages, ultimately suggesting the housing market is not out of the woods just yet. When looking at seasonally adjusted data, it also appears sales have bottomed, at least in Greater Vancouver which notched a 24% gain year-over-year. However, active listings across the province are still growing, up 12% from last year. A record number of new homes under construction in BC should add to that in the year ahead.

Despite the uptick in activity in July, it remains a sluggish year for the BC housing market. The weakness in Greater Vancouver has spread across the province. This has prompted a year to date 14.4% decline in sales and a 5.3% drop in the average sales price.