Provincial Housing Market Activity Normalizing into 2022

In August 2021, the British Columbia Real Estate Association released its third quarter housing report for 2021. The image here summarizes the report which represents unit sales by region. 

The predictions for the rest of the year into 2022 are interesting. But they are also welcome with many eager to have the market normalize. MLS sales for residential areas are expected to see a 26% increase in 2021. And we expect to see a 15% decrease in 2022. 

The Highs and Lows

In recent months we have seen the home sales pace slow though we had a record-breaking start to the year. There is a strong demand and mortgage rates are low. That plus a rebounding economy is good news as long as there will be adequate supply in the market. That, right now, is the only concern. 

Markets outside the Mainland are expected to struggle since they are already looking lackluster. This has caused some of these listings to incur double digit gains. Therefore, the forecast for the remainder of 2021 is an average price increase of 16.6%. In 2020, we are expecting a price increase of around 2.9%. 

We can trust this data from the BCREA because their focus has always been on the impact of real estate on the province. They work alongside the 10 real estate boards in the province and offer professional education, economic research, advocacy and standard forms that help realtors give their clients the best value for money. The association currently has approximately 23,000 realtors in British Columbia under their wings so we know the data they provide is of good value. 

What do you think of these market predictions? Do you have any predictions or estimations of your own?