National

Gloomy 2023 B.C. housing forecast, but 2024 better

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Feb, 2023 10:47 AM

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia Real Estate Association says the chill across the province's property sector will drag on through this year, but it calls for a strong rebound in 2024.

The association makes the prediction in its housing forecast for the first quarter of the year.

Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson blames expected sluggish sales this year on a slowing economy and ongoing, elevated mortgage rates.

But he is looking forward to 2024 when the association says a healthier economy, lower mortgage rates and "record high" immigration should fuel home sales again.

The forecast predicts residential sales in B-C will skid 7.1 per cent this year before surging nearly 24 per cent in 2024.

It says even though home listings remain scant, prices have fallen because of what the association calls the "abrupt shift" in market conditions, and it says rates should stay "relatively flat" for most of this year.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Health Canada greenlights updated Moderna booster

It comes two months after Health Canada authorized a bivalent booster from Moderna that targeted the Omicron BA.1 subvariant and the original strain. Health Canada says a bivalent booster triggers "a strong immune response" against both of the more recent Omicron subvariants,as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 virus strains.

Health Canada greenlights updated Moderna booster

Feds to permanently end interest on student loans

Interest rates will still apply on the provincial portion of a student’s loan. While this move is helpful for students graduating, said Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at Scotiabank, it is ultimately relief for interest payments on debt rather than money toward tuition or other post-secondary school expenses.

Feds to permanently end interest on student loans

Care home changes aim to give families more say

Mable Elmore, parliamentary secretary for senior services, says changes to the residential care regulation will strengthen the voices of resident and family councils. The councils, which she likened to residential stratas, are groups of people who meet regularly to promote the collective interests of residents and discuss concerns.

Care home changes aim to give families more say

Five highlights from the fall fiscal update

The word “inflation” appears more than 100 times in the document, making clear the government's primary economic concern. But beyond the top-line debt projections and the analysis of how Canada seeks to soften the impact of a potential recession, the fiscal update offers key details that shed light on Liberal priorities.

Five highlights from the fall fiscal update

Man dies in B.C. prison 40 years after sentencing

Darcy Sidoruk was 18 years old in 1982 when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced for the shooting two years earlier of family friend Yvonne Doucette in Dawson Creek. Sidoruk also admitted to shooting 19-year-old James Pitt, who picked him up hitchhiking outside Dawson Creek, shortly after the murder of Doucette.

Man dies in B.C. prison 40 years after sentencing

VPD investigate that city's 10 homicide after man dies due to stabbing

According to police, a witness called 9-1-1 around 9:45 p.m. to report a man had been attacked near Renfrew and Graveley streets. The 37-year-old victim was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries. No arrests have been made and a suspect has not been located.