May sales of 8,221 units was an increase from April
Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth
Tighter mortgage lending restrictions continue to constrain the British Columbia housing market although last month did see a rise from the previous month.
May sales through the MLS of 8,221 units was an increase from April but was still 7% below those of May 2018 according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association.
“BC home sales increased 9% in May compared to April, on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said BCREA Chief Economist Cameron Muir. “However, consumers continue to struggle with the negative shock to affordability that stringent mortgage lending policies have created.”
Inventory gained 23.2% to 41,519 units compared to the same month last year but total active listings were down 2% from April, on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was the first monthly decline since the B20 Stress test was introduced in January 2018.
The average MLS residential price in the province was $707,829, a decline of 4.3% from May 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $5.8 billion, down 11% from the same month last year.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 25.1% to $19.8 billion, compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales decreased 20.2% to 28,711 units, while the average MLS residential price was down 6.2% to $688,339.
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