The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,553 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September, up 12 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.2 billion, up 18 per cent compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $605,258, up 5.3 per cent from September 2014.

“Strong consumer demand has pulled down the inventory of homes for sale to its lowest level in eight years,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Market conditions are favouring home sellers in some board areas, while contributing to relative balance between buyers and sellers in others.”

There was a five month supply of residential inventory province wide in September. A balanced market typically exhibits a 5-8 month supply of homes for sale.

The year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume increased 33.8 per cent to $49.5 billion, when compared with the same period in 2014. Residential unit sales climbed by 21.1 per cent to 79,170 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 10.4 per cent to $624,659.