REAL ESTATE NEWS

This year, no one could predict what would lie ahead for the housing market during the novel Coronavirus pandemic that spread across the globe like wildfire. For many, Canadians lost their jobs and were trying to live off government-assisted programs while trying to juggle their bills, but for others, they were presented with a great opportunity to dip their toes in the real estate market for the first time or upgrade to a house outside of the expensive city due to being able to work from home. ...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 11,051 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in October 2020, an increase of 43.8 per cent from October 2019. The average MLS residential price in BC set a record of $812,960, a 12.5 per cent increase from $722,333 recorded the previous year. Total sales dollar volume in August was $8.98 billion, a 61.8 per cent increase over 2019. ...

The B.C. Real Estate Association predicts that the average price of a home by the end of this year will rise 9.9 percent over 2019.
The BCREA made the projection in its fourth quarter housing forecast.
The estimate represents an even rosier outlook compared to the association’s previous housing prediction.
In its third quarter housing forecast released on August 25, the BCREA stated that the average price in 2020 will top those in 2019 by 7.7 percent. ...

The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 1,066 unit sales (all categories) last month compared to 721 in October 2019.
Breaking those numbers down, 524 single-family detached properties (excluding acreage and waterfront) sold in October compared to 342 the previous year, a 53 per cent increase but a decrease of 18 per cent from September. Sales of condo apartments rose by 48 per cent year over year and six per cent month over month. Row/townhouse sales increased by 51 per cent from October 2019 but dipped by 10 per cent from the previous month. ...