BC’s housing market saw a slight improvement in March as home sales nudged higher following a 5.9% decline in February. Sales increased 0.7% to reach 5,866 unit sales. Home prices rose 1.8%. This said, housing momentum has waned in the last few months as buyer sentiment shifted amid interest rate uncertainty.

MLS home sales increased in most of the province’s real estate board areas. The Greater Vancouver area saw home sales increase by 1.4% following a decline in the previous month. In Chilliwack, home sales increased only slightly—by just 0.5%—while the Kootenays reported a 17.2% increase. Home sales also rose 9.4% on Vancouver Island, and were unchanged in the Fraser Valley. However, the Okanagan-Mainline and South Okanagan areas recorded sales declines of 8.9% and 19%, respectively.

Home values in BC increased in March to reach an average of $976,893. Prices have fluctuated since mid-2023, and are now 8.4% below a historical peak in February 2022 and 2.5% below the 2023 high.

The month-to-month gain from February to March was the result of higher prices in the Greater Vancouver region, where home values increased by 1.1%—making up for a decline in February of 0.9%. In both the South Okanagan and Okanagan-Mainline, home prices increased by 7.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

The Fraser Valley also saw prices increase by 2.1% while the Kootenays noted an 11% monthly increase. In Chilliwack, the average price rose by 0.7%. In contrast, home values in Kamloops receded by 6.1% while those on Vancouver Island declined by 0.5%.

There was a drop in new residential listings in BC during March, following two consecutive monthly increases. During the month, new listings decreased by 2.5%—a sign of sellers awaiting better market conditions. Meanwhile, BC’s sales-to-new-listings ratio increased to 46.2% from 44.7%, moving closer to a balanced market. Sales activity is expected to remain subdued into the late spring months. The possibility of rate cuts in the second half of the year might fuel stronger market activity.

On the construction front, building permits in BC continued to climb in February, increasing by 10.6% following a 32.4% surge in January. The February increase was driven by residential and non-residential sectors, with construction intentions up by 5.9% and 19.8%, respectively. Year over year, total permit values soared by 44.6%. While the 12-month moving average shows a down trend in permit issuances that has been ongoing since late 2022, the recent increase could point to a shift in activity.

The value of residential permits increased to $1.4 billion. Single-dwelling residential permits increased by 9.4% and multi-family building permits rose by 5.1%.

Non-residential permit values advanced to $804.9 million. Industrial permit values soared, up by more than 12 times their value in January, largely due to a permit issued for a new dairy processing facility in Abbotsford-Mission. Commercial permits rose by 16.3%; government permits fell by 85.5%.

Bryan Yu : BC Housing Market Showing Signs of Marginal Improvement by Bryan Yu | Chief Economist Central 1 | BIV