The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that sales were up in the province for July. Still, there are indicators that a slowdown is near due to rising interest rates from the Bank of Canada.
It’s been a busy July for B.C., with 7,103 residential unit sales. That’s an increase of 25.9 per cent year-over-year. The average home price is slightly up from July 2022, rising 5.6 per cent to $967,948. The total sales dollar volume was $6.9 billion, representing a 33 per cent increase from the same time last year.
“Home sales are up significantly since this time last year,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson. “That said, there are signs that the most recent Bank of Canada rate increases are slowing activity as mortgage rates climb to their highest levels in over a decade.”
Active B.C. listings were stagnant when compared with July 2022. Slightly more than 31,000 listings were posted. That number is up for the second month on a monthly, seasonally adjusted basis as new listings return to typical levels and sales continue to moderate.
B.C. residential sales dollar volume through July 2023 was down 20.9 per cent to $46.3 billion, compared with the same period in 2022. Residential unit sales were down 16.3 per cent to 47,508 units. Meanwhile, the average MLS residential price was down 5.4 per cent to $975,232.
