Housing Market Update (July 2016)

Tight Market Conditions Prevail Around the Province
Vancouver, BC – July 14, 2016. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a record 12,906 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in June, up 14.3 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $8.97 billion in June, up 25.7 per cent compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was up 10 per cent year-over-year, to $694,925.

“Robust housing demand in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan drove sales growth in June,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Economist. “At the same time, the inventory of homes for sale continues to slide lower, creating very tight market conditions around the province.”

“The supply of resale homes is remarkably low across BC, but particularly so in Victoria and the Fraser Valley,” added Ogmundson. The sales-to-active listings ratio has eclipsed 60 per cent in both Victoria and the Fraser Valley, corresponding to less than two months of supply given current demand.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume increased 53.2 per cent to $49.9 billion, when compared with the same period in 2015. Residential unit sales climbed by 30.6 per cent to 67,361 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 17.3 per cent to $741,150.