Summer may be as hot as ever in B.C., but real estate sales are slowing down, according to numbers released Monday by the BC Real Estate Association.
Average house prices were down 0.4 per cent, mostly influenced by a downturn in Greater Vancouver. That was the only region in the province to see a drop in real estate prices.
While the cost of an average home went down 0.5 per cent there, it shot up by as much as 35 per cent in places like Powell River and 10.7 per cent in Kamloops.
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Across B.C., sales dollar volumes in July 2018 were down by 24 per cent compared to the same month last year, again led by big declines in the Lower Mainland.
Chilliwack, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley all saw drops of about 30 per cent in residential sales dollar volume. Other regions weren’t spared: The South Okanagan saw a decrease of 24 per cent, while Vancouver Island recorded a 17-per-cent drop.
Cameron Muir, the association’s chief economist, once again pointed to the new mortgage rules introduced in early 2018 for still slowing down the market, and pushing people to buy less expensive homes.
“However, less frenetic housing demand has created more balanced market conditions in many regions, leading to fewer multiple offers and more choice for consumers,” Muir said.
