BC Home Sales Lower through June, Stronger Second Half Expected

Vancouver, BC – July 12, 2012. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that during the first half of 2012, BC residential sales dollar volume declined 17.1 per cent to $20.4 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales dipped 9 per cent to 38,312 units, while the average Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential price was 8.9 per cent lower at $533,681.
"The pace of home sales slowed during the first half of the year,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “However, the downturn is likely to be temporary as population growth, persistently low mortgage rates and encouraging employment figures suggest a stronger second half of 2012."
"The 5-year conventional mortgage rate remains within 5 basis points of its 20 year monthly low. BC’s population is growing by approximately 45,000 individuals a year. Full-time employment climbed 3 per cent during the first half of 2012 at the expense of part-time employment, which declined 1.9 percent."

The dollar volume of homes sold through the MLS® in BC declined 24.1 per cent to $3.4 billion in June compared to the same month last year. A total of 6,815 MLS® residential unit sales were recorded over the same period, down 13.8 per cent from June 2011. The average MLS® residential price was $503,232, 12.0 per cent lower than a year ago.

Copyright BCREA reprinted with permission