Throughout the end of November 2021, British Columbia saw 117,965 unit sales, which surpassed the 2016 record of 112, 425 sales. This new record was made for 2021 without December’s total.
The B.C Real Estate Association notes, the first part of 2021 had a lot of high volume sales, and this is what pushed up the number. Every market of the province saw records being set through spring. Then the numbers settled down during the summer, only to gain momentum into the fall and winter months.
It is interesting that these record sales were seen while there were reports of a record low inventory. Both of these can’t be true, and the sales numbers do not lie. There are now new listings on the market, and these are seeing activity. So pretty much everything that came into the market was being bought. While the new supply is good, the rebuilt inventory is still low. And because the new inventory is being bought, the total inventory is still looking on the low side.
The data showed the average British Columbia home price was just a little under a million dollars. This increased 22.1% since November 2020, where the average home prices were $814,310.
Factors Affecting the Increase
Another factor affecting the price increase is the pandemic induced relocation demand. This is especially true of people moving out of Vancouver. Persons with Vancouver income were moving to different areas of the province that had a lower supply, and so this caused price increases.
There were people looking for single detached homes and generally more space. Because more people were looking for these types of homes and features, they became more expensive. So this skewed the average a little bit.
Average Home Prices
Chilliwack – $794,605
Fraser Valley – $1,107,374
Victoria – $987,970
Greater Vancouver – $1,241,774
With just over 16,000 homes for sale in British Columbia, there is a short supply indeed, as usually the Vancouver area alone has that number of listings. The tightest market in the province is the Capital Region District and Victoria. The population is approximately 400,000, and there are just 672 active. One issue with this area is that people that retire here don’t often move away.
Anybody looking to retire, whether in Victoria or in British Columbia, is bringing demand, but there is no major increase in supply.
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