Home sales in British Columbia are forecast to fall 2.1 per cent this year as economic challenges push volume and prices lower across the province.
The B.C. Real Estate Association says in its second quarterly housing forecast that residential unit sales will likely drop to about 69,000 homes this year.
Prices are also expected to slide, by about 1.4 per cent to an average price of $939,800 due to a combination of more new-home inventory and active listings being at their highest levels since 2015.
Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says in a statement that the market faces global and local economic challenges, but the industry is hopeful that pent-up demand will lead to a rebound once affordability improves.
The group also says the drop in average selling prices so far this year shows a "disproportionate weakness" in expensive real estate markets in the Lower Mainland, which pushes the provincewide index price lower.
Ogmundson says that while the association is forecasting a 7.7 per cent rise in home sales for next year, "households will likely need a prolonged period of stability" before buyers are willing to re-enter the market.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
