Low mortgage rates to boost BC housing sales to 100,000

by Steve Randall | 19 Aug 2015

Sales through the MLS system in British Columbia are set to reach 100,000 units this year, for only the third time. The BC Real Estate Association says that demand for homes has not been so strong since 2007; the record was in 2005 when 106,300 residential MLS sales were recorded. “While rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and BC’s nation leading economic growth are underpinning demand, consumer confidence is the key driver of the near record activity,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. The average sales price in the province is forecast to climb 10 per cent to $626,000 this year. An increase in new construction activity and a higher proportion of condominium purchases is expected to limit growth in the average home price to 2.5 per cent in 2016.