Increases in home prices in the City of Vancouver have had a spillover effect in surrounding British Columbia municipalities. Centres within commuting distance of Vancouver City experienced the strongest spillover effect, however, price increases could also be seen in municipalities outside commuting range.

This analysis is part of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) latest Housing Market Insight (HMI) report on the link between Vancouver home prices and other major centres in British Columbia.

Report highlights

• Home price changes in the City of Vancouver have a measurable effect...

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) today released its 2016 Annual Report titled “Innovating for Better Housing Outcomes”.

In 2016, CMHC supported over 500,000 Canadian households through long-term social housing commitments and provided mortgage loan insurance for more than 350,000 homes. The report captures how CMHC, as Canada’s authority on housing, contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system while providing support for Canadians in housing need.

Contributing to stability of the housing market and financial system

• Mortgage loan insurance...

Housing starts are trending higher at 213,768 units in April 2017, compared to 210,702 units in March 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“New housing construction increased in Canada, with seasonally adjusted data exceeding 200,000 units for five months in a row”, said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “The increase in the trend was mainly due to apartment construction in British Columbia and Québec, which...

Prices in Canada’s most expensive city for existing homes appear to have rebounded from the impact of a tax on foreign buyers as Vancouver realtors reported Tuesday a huge swing in demand for condominiums and townhomes in April.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was $941,100 in April, an 11.4 per cent increase from a year ago but a five per cent jump in the past three months.

Sales of all property types dropped 25.7 per cent from a year ago to 3,533 in April but were 4.8 per cent above the 10-year...

Demand for condominiums and townhomes continues to drive the Metro Vancouver* housing market.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 3,553 in April 2017, a 25.7 per cent decline compared to April 2016 when 4,781 homes sold and a 0.7 per cent decrease from the 3,579 sales recorded in March 2017.

April sales were 4.8 per cent above the 10-year average for the month.

For the first four months of the year, condominium and townhome sales have comprised a larger percentage of all residential sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver. Over this time, they’ve...

VICTORIA — City council is calling on the province to immediately impose a 15 per cent non-resident buyers tax here to cool what has become one of the three hottest real estate markets in the country.

The request comes after what some councillors see as the success of the same foreign buyers tax imposed last fall in Vancouver, and as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a 15 per cent foreign buyers levy in the Toronto area.

“We all know that we have a housing crisis and that the cost of home ownership and rent is getting higher and higher and the dream of home ownership is getting...

The B.C. government unveiled a foreign-buyer’s tax last summer aimed at tamping down Vancouver’s runaway real estate market and making homes more affordable.

Eight months later, has home affordability actually improved?

Vancouver-area sales, listings and prices all dropped after the measure – a 15-per-cent property transfer tax on foreign national home buyers – went into effect Aug. 2.

But by then, the market was already cooling, Royal Bank of Canada senior economist Robert Hogue said last week in a report.

“The impact of the tax in Metro Vancouver...

Vancouver’s presale condo market is in need of regulation and transparency, say realtors whose clients are being routinely shut out of the frenzied market.

The presale market is the “wild west” of the industry, says realtor Steve Saretsky, who posted a blog post recently, titled “Vancouver Pre Sale Condo Ponzi Scheme.” Mr. Saretsky, who often speaks out against his own industry, says it’s common that offshore investors get first dibs on presale purchases. Those purchases are assigned, or flipped, to local buyers at a premium. He says in recent months,...

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The rental market is an important housing option for approximately 30% of Canadians. Effective May 15, CMHC will introduce enhancements to its multi-unit mortgage loan insurance that will address the rental needs of Canadians while supporting efforts to expand and preserve the supply of affordable rental housing.

“CMHC’s products and services facilitate access to housing for all Canadians, not just homebuyers” said Steve Mennill, Senior Vice-President, Insurance. “The enhancements to our multi-unit mortgage loan insurance products and policies are designed to expand our ...

Five-pillar approach will build stronger communities

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) today announced a five-pillar approach to address housing affordability for renters, homebuyers and homeowners across British Columbia.

BCREA’s five pillars include timely recommendations to:  assist consumers with housing costs,  encourage the creation of more rental housing,  densify urban areas,  adjust the Property Transfer Tax, and  promote best practices among local governments.

“REALTORS® understand the importance of housing affordability in creating strong communities,...

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey[1] released today, Canada’s residential real estate market saw substantial price growth in the first quarter of 2017. While the majority of Canadian housing markets posted modest gains, price appreciation across much of Ontario significantly outpaced the rest of the country, with similar market dynamics to those that have driven housing activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) beginning to impact the entire “Golden Horseshoe” region of south-central Ontario, and as far away as Windsor and London in southwestern Ontario. Meanwhile,...

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were up on a month-over-month basis in March 2017.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 1.1% from February to March.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in March was up 6.6% from a year earlier.
• The number of newly listed homes climbed 2.5% from February to March.
• The MLS^® Home Price Index (HPI) was up 18.6% year-over-year (y-o-y) in March 2017.
• The national average sale price increased by 8.2% y-o-y in March.

Home sales over Canadian MLS^® Systems edged up 1.1% in March 2017,...

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The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,826 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March, down 21.8 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.79 billion, down 30 per cent from March 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $690,597, a 10.5 per cent decrease from the same period last year. 

“Consumer demand continues to normalize following blockbuster home sales in 2016,” says Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Economist. “However, the supply...

A shortage of residential property listings coupled with strong demand, particularly for condos and townhomes, continued to impact Metro Vancouver’s housing market in March.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 3,579 in March 2017, a decrease of 30.8 per cent from the 5,173 sales recorded in record-breaking March 2016 and an increase of 47.6 per cent compared to February 2017 when 2,425 homes sold. 

Last month’s sales were 7.9 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month. 

“While demand in March was below the record high of last...

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Demand for land helped commercial real estate sales and dollar value reach fiveyear highs in the Lower Mainland in 2016, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 2,848 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, a 21 per cent increase over the 2,353 sales in 2015.

Commercial real estate sales in 2016 were 29.7 per cent above the region’s five-year sales average.

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $12.990 billion in 2016, a 47.4...

More foreign buyers of homes in British Columbia will be able to claim exemption from the additional property transfer tax introduced last year.

The government said Friday that the exemption will apply for workers moving to the province under the BC Provincial Nominee Program who buy a home in Metro Vancouver as their principal residence.

“British Columbia has always welcomed the world’s best and brightest, where they find a place that embraces them,” said Premier Christy Clark. “Our growing tech sector depends on the Provincial Nominee Program, and that’s why we’re...