Vancouver, BC – June 13, 2017. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 12,402 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, down 7.9% from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $9.33 billion, down 4.0% from May 2017. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $752,536, a 4.2% increase from the same period last year.

“Market conditions have tightened considerably this spring as an upturn in consumer demand has not been accompanied by a rise in homes listed for sale,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The supply of homes for sale in the province has fallen 50% over the past five years.”

“The entire southern portion of the province is experiencing a shortage of housing supply, which makes continuing upward pressure on home prices inevitable, at least in the near term,” added Muir. Total active listings in the province were down 11.1% to 28,404 units from May 2016. The ratio of home sales to active listings was well over 20% in nine of the province’s 11 real estate boards, and over 50% in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Chilliwack and Victoria.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 25.2 per cent to $30.6 billion, when compared with the same period in 2016. Residential unit sales declined 20.1% to 43,158 units, while the average MLS® residential price was down 5.7% to $709,541.

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