BCREA News: Swollen Inventories Favour Homebuyers

Recent news from the BC Real Estate Association:

Swollen Inventories Favour Homebuyers

Vancouver, BC – August 15, 2008. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 38 per cent to $2.9 billion in July, compared to July 2007. Residential unit sales fell 37 per cent to 6,541 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $444,358, down 0.5 per cent from July 2007.  

Home sales have slowed to a level not seen since the beginning of the decade,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “BC households are now cautious about making major purchases in light of uncertainty around fuel prices and other inflationary pressures.”

“The slowdown in housing demand has swollen the inventory of homes for sale, putting downward pressure on home prices in some markets,” added Muir. A total of 60,008 homes were for sale on the MLS® in July, an increase of 63 per cent from the previous year. “While this inventory is expected to decline in the coming months, most BC regions will remain in buyers’ market territory for the remainder of 2008.”

Year-to-date MLS® residential sales dollar volume in the province declined 18 per cent to $23.2 billion compared to the same period last year. Sales transactions fell 24 per cent to 49,448 units, while the average residential price increased 8.2 per cent to $469,676 over the same period.

For the complete news release, including detailed statistics, follow this link: www.bcrea.bc.ca/news_room/2008-07.pdf.