November house sales increased 27.5 percent from last year
Sean MacKay
Livabl
The BC housing market’s recovery has continued late into the year with sales activity in November recording a 27.5 percent increase compared to the same time last year.
There were 6,616 sales across the province last month at an average price of $746,939, according to the latest monthly data from the British Columbia Real Estate Association. The double-digit sales increase and 5.5 percent price jump meant that $4.94 billion worth of residential real estate changed hands in November, over $1 billion more than the same month in 2018.
Bottom of Form
While it was a strong monthly result when compared to 2018’s lethargic pace and the dismal activity levels observed through early 2019, BC’s November sales total was only about average from a historical standpoint.
“After several months of strong gains, home sales [in BC] are now firming around long-run averages,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson in a media release. “We expect 2020 will be a much more typical year for markets compared to the volatility of recent years.”
In a research note published earlier this week, TD economist Rishi Sondhi noted that the current strength of the Canadian housing market has a lot to do with the ongoing recovery in BC. It wasn’t so long ago that housing was considered a drag on the national economy, but Sondhi writes that residential investment is again supporting economic growth during 2019’s final quarter thanks in no small part to renewed energy in the BC market.
As has been the case for several months now in major markets across Canada, new home listings were down 6.6 percent across the province with 31,310 residential units on the market.
It appears that Vancouver is following Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto in steadily marching towards seller’s market territory for 2020, but the province as a whole remains balanced at this time according to BCREA data.
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