BCREA 2020 Third Quarter Housing Forecast Update

The recession prompted by COVID-19 is on pace to be one of the worst on record for the BC economy. However, looking at recent data in the housing market, it would be difficult to tell there was a recession at all. While home sales initially fell to historic lows in April, sales have recently soared, more than regaining pre-pandemic levels. Consequently, the outlook for the housing market is much brighter following a stronger than expected summer.

The explanation for the counter-intuitive performance of the housing market lies in the very unusual ...

Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales and new listings continued to rebound in July 2020, with new listings hitting their highest level on record for the month of July, while sales posted the highest level of any month in history.

Summary:

• National home sales rose 26% on a month-over-month (m-o-m) basis in July.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 30.5% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed properties climbed 7.6% from June to July.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 2.3% m-o-m and was up 7.4% y-o-y....

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,090 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2020, an increase of 26.6 per cent from July 2019. The average MLS® residential price in BC was $770,810, a 12.9 per cent increase from $682,702 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in July was $7.8 billion, a 43 per cent increase over 2019.

“The strong recovery in sales activity continued in July,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Increased demand for more living space...

Home buyer and seller activity in Metro Vancouver* exceeded historical levels in July.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 3,128 in July 2020, a 22.3 per cent increase from the 2,557 sales recorded in July 2019, and a 28 per cent increase from the 2,443 homes sold in June 2020.

Last month’s sales were 9.4 per cent above the 10-year July sales average.

“We're seeing the results today of pent up activity, from both home buyers and sellers, that had been accumulating in our market throughout the year,” Colette...