Sun
B.C. residential sales projected to increase by 20 per cent this year and a further eight per cent in 2010. Photograph by: Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun files
VANCOUVER – British Columbia’s real estate sector is in the midst of a sharp rebound, with residential sales projected to increase by 20 per cent this year and a further eight per cent in 2010.
However, rising prices are threatening to “erode affordability,” meaning demand for new homes may ease, according to a B.C. Real Estate Association release.
Officials predict that the 20-per-cent surge will mean that 82,900 homes will be sold this year, up from just 68,923 units sold the year before.
Sales are expected to climb to 89,600 units next year.
“A sharp rebound in consumer demand turned a potentially dismal year into a very strong year for home sales,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist, in a news release. “Vancouver and Victoria, in particular, are posting near record unit sales this fall.”
Experts say the average annual MLS residential price in the province is expected to post a new record this year, rising two per cent to $463,200 and is forecast to climb an additional four per cent to $482,800 in 2010.
“Recovery in the BC economy will unfold gradually next year,” Muir said. “With sales prices in some markets flirting with record highs, affordability constraints will limit home price inflation over the next year.”
Meanwhile, in Vancouver the housing market is experiencing a dramatic rebound, according to the Real Estate Association.
“MLS residential sales increased threefold January to October on a seasonally adjusted basis, and is trending on record levels,” report said. “A marked increase in affordability during the spring induced many potential buyers into the market and the resulting momentum quickly turned a buyer’s market into a seller’s market with upward pressure on home prices.”
However, “rising home prices are again eroding affordability and the demand that welled up last winter during the height of the financial crisis is now largely expended.”
This means the pace of home sales recorded this autumn will likely moderate over the coming months.
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