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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto:\u00a0Kyle Thacker<\/a>\/Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If you need any more convincing that BC\u2019s housing market is turning the corner, August home sales data for the province presents yet another compelling case.<\/p>\n A total of 7,093 homes changed hands throughout BC last month, up 4.9 percent compared to August 2018.<\/p>\n\n \u201cBC home sales continue to recover from a policy-driven downturn,\u201d says Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA\u2019s deputy chief economist.<\/p>\n Specifically, Ogmundson refers to mortgage stress testing introduced for uninsured mortgages at the onset of 2018.<\/p>\n The new rules were part of Guideline B20, a policy framework drafted by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, a federal watchdog.<\/p>\n The stress test requires borrowers to either qualify for their mortgages at the Bank of Canada\u2019s benchmark rate \u2014 an average of the Big Six banks\u2019 posted rates \u2014 or 200 basis points above the borrowers\u2019 contract rate, whichever is higher.<\/p>\n Similar testing had been implemented in 2016 for insured mortgages.<\/p>\n Following the rule changes last year, home sales across the country fell.<\/p>\n While BC home sales activity appears to be once more on an upward trajectory, it hasn\u2019t fully recovered to previous levels.<\/p>\n \u201cHome sales have been rising through the spring and summer, but still remain well below pre-B20 stress test levels,\u201d writes BCREA\u2019s Ogmundson.<\/p>\n While the average price of a BC home climbed 2.6 percent to $685,575 on a year-over-year basis in August, Greater Vancouver home prices remained below year-ago levels.<\/p>\n The average price of a Greater Vancouver home was $974,167, 3.7 percent shy of where the measure stood in August 2018.<\/p>\n Local performances across the rest of the province varied.<\/p>\n For example, Vancouver Island prices soared 8.7 percent annually, averaging $504,320 in August, while Victoria prices remained roughly unchanged at an average of $703,666.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how markets fared in BC:<\/p>\n