Houses are seen on a hill in Vancouver, on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. The BC Real Estate Association says there was a nearly 30 percent increase in home sales last month compared with January 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The BC Real Estate Association reported a substantial surge in home sales last month compared to January 2023, accompanied by a rise in prices.
According to the association, there were 3,979 completed sales last month, marking a nearly 30 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. The average home price stood at $957,909, reflecting a more than 10 percent escalation from the preceding year.
Brendon Ogmundson, the association's chief economist, highlighted the robust sales figures as indicative of a "clear uptrend" in the market at the beginning of 2024. The total sales volume for January amounted to $3.8 billion.
Ogmundson attributed the heightened market activity to declining mortgage rates and anticipated interest rate reductions by the Bank of Canada throughout the year. He noted that these factors are stimulating market sentiment and prompting latent demand to enter the market.
The Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver regions witnessed the most significant year-over-year increases in both unit sales and dollar volumes. In Chilliwack, sales surpassed $144.6 million last month, representing a remarkable surge of over 73 percent from the previous year. Similarly, Greater Vancouver experienced a notable increase in sales, reaching $1.78 billion, marking a 48.4 percent upsurge.
