Even as home prices eased up in Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley, all individual housing markets tracked by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) recorded average price increases in March.

However, the province-wide average home price was $690,597 last month, a 10.5% drop compared to the same period last year, according to the BCREA’s latest data release published last week.

Fewer sales of higher-priced homes in Greater Vancouver caused the decline in the province’s average home price, BCREA says.

Last month, the average price of a home sold in Greater Vancouver was $991,690, a 9.3% decrease from $1,093,267 in March 2016.

Meanwhile, a total of 9,826 residential units were sold in March across the province, down 21.8% from the same period in 2016.

“Consumer demand continues to normalize following blockbuster home sales in 2016,” says Brendon Ogmundson, an economist at BCREA. “However, the supply of homes available for sale has not recovered and is still declining in many markets around the province,” he adds.

Even though there was a year-over-year drop in BC’s average residential price, constraints on housing supply are pushing up home prices in most markets, including Victoria.

Last month, the average price of a home in Victoria was $640,802, up 11.3% compared to March 2016.

Currently, Victoria has just over one month of inventory for sale, as does the apartment and townhouse market in the Lower Mainland, BCREA says.

Total sales dollar volume also saw a decline in March with $6.79 billion, a 30% drop from the same period last year. Year-to-date, the sales dollar volume was $14.1 billion, down 34.7% compared with the same period in 2016.

Year-to-date, BC home sales fell 25.5% to 20,893 units and the average MLS residential price saw a 12.4% drop to $674,856.

BCREA : Limited Supply Pushes Up Home Prices in March in Most BC Markets by Kerrisa Wilson | Buzz Buzz Home