The British Columbia Real
Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,837 residential
unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across
the province in May, a 28.7 per cent decrease from the same month last
year. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $739,783, down 1.7
per cent from May 2017. Total sales dollar volume was $6.54 billion, a
30 per cent decline from May 2017.
“BC home sales continued to slow in May because of more stringent
qualifications for conventional borrowers,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA
Chief Economist. “The changes in mortgage policy are taking their toll
on housing demand, not only in British Columbia, but across the country
by reducing household purchasing power and housing affordability.”
While the decline in consumer demand has lifted the inventory of
homes for sale, total active residential listings in the province are
still relatively low by historical comparison.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 13.8 per
cent to $26.4 billion, compared with the same period in 2017.
Residential unit sales decreased 16.6 per cent to 35,976 units, while
the average MLS® residential price was up 3.4 per cent to $733,616.