BC Home Sales Projected to Climb

According to the newly released forecast from BCREA, 2011 will be a positive year, in terms of sales.

Residential sales are expected to rise by 8 %- from 74,640 units in 2010 to 80,900 units in 2011, and increase a further 4% to 83,950 units in 2012.

“British Columbia housing markets are returning to normalcy after two years of volatility,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Employment and population growth will fuel consumer demand over the next two years. However, higher mortgage interest rates and tighter credit conditions for low equity home buyers will limit home sales to below the ten-year average of 87,600 units.”
“Total active residential listings in the province declined 14 per cent since last spring. However, the inventory of homes for sale is expected to edge higher as the number of new listings to the market advances during the first two quarters of 2011,” added Muir. “Regional market differences continue in the province, with Vancouver trending into a seller’s market, while the Okanagan, Kootenay and Kamloops markets trend from a buyer’s market toward balanced conditions.”
In terms of prices, there is expectation that the average MLS price will rise by 2 % to $517,000 this year, with little change to come in 2012.

Looking at housing starts, the forecast says that the pace will increase modestly in 2011, by 0.5%- and that there will not be a significant increase in these numbers until existing inventories are cleared out.