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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto:\u00a0Jose Soriano<\/a>\/Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n BC\u2019s housing market got another shot in the arm last month, as total home sales rose nearly 20 percent. <\/p>\n Following a dismal start to the year, the province\u2019s housing market and its biggest driver, Vancouver, have been showing signs of springing back to what market observers call \u201cnormal\u201d levels.<\/p>\n\n The 7,666 home sales recorded in the province by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) amounted to $5.55 billion in residential real estate changing hands in October. That made for a 25.4 percent increase over October 2018. The average price of a BC home was $724,045, up by 5.1 percent from the same time last year.<\/p>\n While overall home sales dollar volume is still down in 2019 when compared to the same January to October period in 2019, it is largely a result of prolonged weakness in the first half of the year. For Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA\u2019s chief economist, the market strength observed in October was a sign that prices may gain more upward momentum heading into the new year.<\/p>\n \u201cMost markets around the province are returning to a more typical level of sales activity,\u201d Ogmundson said in a media release. \u201cThat recovery in sales and slower listings activity is putting upward pressure on prices in many markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as Canadian housing markets east of Winnipeg continue to put up consistently more impressive displays of strength in the second half of the year, BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter did call attention to Vancouver\u2019s relatively strong performance in October, noting that home sales were \u201cflickering to life.\u201d In a note published late last week, Porter wrote that the turnaround in sales should lead to more home price stability down the line.<\/p>\n