It’s not looking good for total B.C. home sales this year compared with last year, according to a forecast by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
With a slow start to the year, the association had previously predicted an 11 per cent decline in B.C. resale transactions in 2018 compared with 2017. But with an even weaker spring market than expected, this figure has now been revised to a 17.7 per cent annual decrease.
That’s the sharpest predicted decline of all the provinces and territories, with Ontario following at an expected 15.9 per cent drop.
Despite B.C.’s expected weak sales performance in 2018, average sale prices across the province are predicted to continue to rise, by 3.4 per cent this year. CREA said B.C. sale prices will then rise a further 1.8 per cent in 2019 to an average of $747,100.
Across the country as a whole, home sales on the MLS are expected to drop 11 per cent this year compared with 2017, which is also a bigger decline than the previously predicted 7.1 per cent.
Quebec and Nova Scotia are now the only two provinces expected to see home sales increase this year, compared with last year.
Canada’s sale prices are expected to drop 2.1 per cent in 2018, taking the average price of a home sold this year just below the $500,000 mark. The average price is then expected to increase in 2019 by 3.8 per cent, said CREA.
