mayne-brothers-white-logo

Policy Induced Demand Slide Does Little to Impact Supply

Published on April 12, 2018

Vancouver, BC – April 12, 2018. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,409 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across the province in March, a 24.6 per cent decrease from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $726,930, up 5.3 per cent from the previous year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.39 billion, a 20.6 per cent decline from March 2017.

“More burdensome mortgage qualifications are having the predictable effect of swiftly curbing housing demand,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “You simply cannot pull as much as 20 per cent of the purchasing power away from conventional mortgage borrowers and not create a downturn in consumer demand.”

Despite the decline in consumer demand, the supply of homes for sale remains low in most BC regions. Total active listings on the market are essentially unchanged from March 2017, and are at or near a 12-year low across the province. As a result, home prices are expected to continue an upward trajectory.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 1.7 per cent to $13.9 billion, compared with the same period in 2017. Residential unit sales decreased 9.4 per cent to 18,927 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 8.5 per cent to $732,243.

RELATED POSTS

Vancouver, BC –  December 12, 2023. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 4,630 residential

1 min read

Vancouver, BC – November 14, 2023. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 5,373 residential

1 min read

BCREA 2023 Fourth Quarter Housing Forecast Vancouver, BC – October 25, 2023. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its

2 min read

Get all the latest updates by signing up to our newsletter.

BE INFORMED

BE INFORMED