June residential real estate sales soar in parts of B.C. (but not where you’d expect)

Demand remains strong thanks to provincial economy, says BCREA

Although the total number of residential units sold provincewide dropped 9.6 per cent in June and total sales dollar volume was down 5.6 per cent compared to the same month last year, both increased outside the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Okanagan Mainline regions, according to statistics from the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA). The most dramatic increases were in the Northern Lights region (unit sales up 78.3 per cent, dollar volume up 96.6 per cent), Powell River (unit sales up 35.6 per cent, dollar volume up 47.6 per cent) and Kootenay (unit sales up 28.5 per cent, dollar volume up 51.1 per cent). 

Year-to-date, unit sales and dollar volume followed the same pattern. Total B.C. dollar volume was down 21.7 per cent to $ 39.1 billion, residential unit sales declined 18.6 per cent to 54,830 units, and the average MLS residential price was down 3.8 per cent to $712,993. In the Northern Lights region, however, unit sales increased 85 per cent and dollar volume 84.5 per cent although average price dipped 3.8 per cent; Kootenay saw increases of 14.6 per cent in unit sales, 31.2 per cent in dollar volume and 14.5 per cent in average price.

The average price for residential property in June, however, increased throughout the province. “Supply remains a challenge, which means most areas are seeing tight market conditions and significant upward pressure on prices,” said BCREA economist Brendon Ogmundson, in a release. Total active listings in the province were down 6.2 per cent to 29,651 units from June 2016, and the average residential price overall increased 4.4 per cent to $725,778.