Data from 10 real estate boards across the province show a picture of rising prices, high demand and low supply.
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The housing supply in British Columbia is at an all-time low, the British Columbia Real Estate Association said.
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There were 19,214 active listings in October across the province, a nearly 40 percent drop from October 2020 and a record low.
Home inventories have also fallen for five consecutive months.
“The province-wide story is still the record low for listings,” said Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist at BCREA, which represents some 23,000 realtors across the province.
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“Rising mortgage rates should begin to dampen sales activity next year, but even with a moderation in demand, it will take a long time for home inventory to return to a healthy level.”
Data from 10 real estate boards across the province show a picture of rising prices, high demand and low supply.
The number of homes for sale in October is down everywhere in British Columbia compared to October 2020, except in Powell River, which posted a four percent gain.
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The decline in many regions is significant: Fraser Valley had 53 percent fewer homes for sale this October compared to the same time last year; Kamloops saw a 49 percent drop; Vancouver, 47 percent; and Victoria, 55 percent.
In Greater Vancouver, where median home prices are highest, the ratio of active sales to listings is nearly 42 percent.
Other regions have an even scarcer supply. Chilliwack’s active sales to listings ratio is 84.5 percent; Victoria’s, nearly 94 percent, and Fraser Valley, 69 percent.
Analysts say a sales-to-active listing ratio of 20 percent or more indicates a seller’s market where there are more people looking for a home than there are available homes.
Across British Columbia, 9,593 homes exchanged hands in October, a 14 percent drop from the same month last year, while the median home price increased 19 percent to $ 964,777.
Reference-vancouversun.com