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Vancouver home prices headed further south in June, but not all markets in BC are seeing prices tailspin.
In fact, six of the 11 local markets that the British Columbia Real Estate Association tracks had average prices last month that were higher than they were a year ago, including two that are approaching double-digit annual growth rates.
Northern BC led the way, with an average home sale price of $338,617, up 9 percent on a year-over-year basis in June.
“Home sales continue to trend along at fairly average levels, a little lower than in recent years but not by much,” says Leah Mayer, president of the BC Northern Real Estate Board, in a monthly report on the June numbers.
“Even so, with the number of properties available for sale still running at somewhat below-average levels, prices are on track for another decent gain this year,” Mayer continues.
That’s in stark contrast to Greater Vancouver, where the average price tumbled 8.2 percent in the other direction to $980,635.
Next to northern BC, Kamloops was strongest, with prices up 8.6 percent to $425,261.
“Home sales have been steadily moderating over the last couple of years, although that trend has come alongside a sharp decline in the number of properties available for sale,” says Wendy Runge, president of the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, in the association’s June market report.
“The fact that prices also started to pick up around the same time suggests the slowdown in sales is probably more of a supply story than a demand story,” Runge notes.
Vancouver Island was next in terms of growth as the average price increased 4.6 percent to $495,051.
Powell River saw prices climb 4.4 percent averaging $350,830 in June. Chilliwack and the Northern Lights area near the eastern border of BC rounded out the markets that had annual price jumps, with the former rising 1.7 percent to an average of $538,147 and the latter hitting $267,534, up 1.4 percent.
Chilliwack, the second-largest city in the Fraser Valley region, has seen steady levels of supply, and that’s kept prices from falling, suggests Kyle Nason, president of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, in a statement.
“[T]he number of months of inventory is only just now back in line with its long-term average so the market is still well balanced. As a result, while prices have not really risen over the last year, they have not fallen either,” he adds.
