Vancouver, BC – September 13, 2016. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 8,945 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August, up 1.5% from the same month last year.

Total sales dollar volume was $5.1 billion in August, down 6.7% compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $569,393, a decline of 8.1% compared to the same month last year.

“Strong housing demand across most regions of the province offset slowing home sales in Vancouver last month,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The newly introduced 15% foreign buyer tax combined with the 3% property transfer tax on homes over $2 million brought in earlier this year, slowed demand at the top end of the market in Vancouver last month.”

“The decline in the average home price was due to a change in the composition and location of homes sold in the province,” added Muir. “Fewer sales of high priced detached homes relative to all other homes sales in Vancouver as well as fewer Vancouver home sales relative to the rest of the province has caused the average price statistic to decline.”

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume increased 39.1% to $61.6 billion, when compared with the same period in 2015. Residential unit sales climbed by 22.1% to 86,206 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 13.9% to $714.400.

Click here for the complete news release, including detailed statistics.