Vancouver, BC – September 12, 2019.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,093 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS® ) in August, an increase of 4.9 per cent from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $685,575, an increase of 2.6 per cent from August 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $4.86 billion, a 7.6 per cent increase from the same month last year.

“BC home sales continue to recover from a policy-driven downturn,” said BCREA Deputy Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Home sales have been rising through the spring and summer, but still remain well below preB20 stress test levels.”

MLS® residential active listings in the province were up 10 per cent from August 2018 to 40,098 units and were essentially flat compared to July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Overall market conditions remained in a balanced range with a sales-to-active-listings ratio of about 18 per cent. Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 16 per cent to $34.9 billion, compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales were 12.2 per cent lower at 50,806 units, while the average MLS® residential price was down 4.4 per cent year-to date at $686,303.

In the Okanagan, year to date sales numbers are down 7.4%, but our average price is holding steady - currently $519,794, which is 0.8% down on last year.

Looking at year on year numbers the Central Okanagan average price is currently $521,766, which is up 3.2% on this time last year and currently active listings across the Valley are standing at 4,268, which is 4.5% higher than last year.

Kind Regards

Trish Cenci

Information provided by Brendon Ogmundson Deputy Chief Economist for the BC Real Estate Association.