Vancouver, BC – August 13, 2019. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,930 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July, an increase of 12.4% from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $684,497, a decline of 1.6% from July 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $5.43 billion, a 10.5% increase from the same month last year.

“BC home sales climbed higher for the first time in 18 months on a year-over-year basis in July,” said BCREA Chief Economist Cameron Muir. Housing demand has also trended higher since March, rising 21% on a seasonally adjusted basis. “Households appear to be adjusting to the tighter credit environment as the shock of the B20 stress test dissipates.”

MLS® residential active listings in the province trended lower in July, down 3% from June and 6% from April on a seasonally adjusted basis. Active listings were up 12.4% to 41,621 units on a year-over year basis, while overall market conditions remained unchanged from 12 months ago with the sales-to-active listings ratio at 19.1%.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 18.9% to $30 billion, compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales decreased 14.4% to 43,612 units, while the average MLS® residential price was down 5.3% to $687,413.

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BCREA Housing Demand Improves in July