The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that during the first half of 2012, BC residential sales dollar volume declined 17.1 per cent to $20.4 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales dipped 9 per cent to 38,312 units, while the average Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential price was 8.9 per cent lower at $533,681.
“The pace of home sales slowed during the first half of the year, ” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “However, the downturn is likely to be temporary as population growth, persistently low mortgage rates and encouraging employment figures suggest a stronger second half of 2012.”
“The 5-year conventional mortgage rate remains within 5 basis points of its 20 year monthly low. BC’s population is growing by approximately 45,000 individuals a year. Full-time employment climbed 3 per cent during the first half of 2012 at the expense of part-time employment, which declined 1.9 percent.”
The dollar volume of homes sold through the MLS® in BC declined 24.1 per cent to $3.4 billion in June compared to the same month last year. A total of 6,815 MLS® residential unit sales were recorded over the same period, down 13.8 per cent from June 2011. The average MLS® residential price was $503,232, 12.0 per cent lower than a year ago.
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