Vancouver, BC – February 13, 2020. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 4,426 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2020, an increase of 23.7% from the 3,579 units sold in January 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $725,370, a 9.1% increase from $664,633 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in January was $3.2 billion, a 35% increase over 2019.

“Housing markets in BC are off to a strong start in 2020,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “We expect a much more typical year of home sales in 2020 as markets recover from the policy-induced slowdown of the past two years.”

Total MLS® residential active listings fell 12.6% to 25,790 units compared to the same month last year. The ratio of sales to active residential listings increased to 17.2% from just 12.1% last January.

“While many markets are showing strong signs of recovery, the struggling forestry sector is having a clear impact on housing demand, particularly in the North and parts of Vancouver Island,” added Ogmundson.

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BC Housing Markets Off to A Strong Start in 2020 by Brendon Ogmundson | BCREA