Brendon Ogmundson, Chief Economist at BCREA
BRITISH COLUMBIA – The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 11,368 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in September 2020, an increase of 63.3 per cent from September 2019.
The average MLS residential price in BC set a monthly record of $803,210, a 15.3 per cent increase from $696,647 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in August was $9.1 billion, an 88.3 per cent increase over 2019.
“The provincial housing market had a record-setting September,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Both total sales and average prices were the highest ever for the month of September as pent-up demand from the spring pushes into the fall.”
“Average prices are skewing higher as demand for space during the pandemic drives sales of single-detached homes,” added Ogmundson.
Total provincial active listings are still down about 12 per cent year-over-year, with some markets even more under-supplied as the pandemic continues to keep listings low. Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 25.1 per cent to $49.7 billion, compared with the same period in 2019.
Residential unit sales were up 12.5 per cent to 65,023 units, while the average MLS residential price was up 11.2 per cent to $764,298.
