Despite a year-over-year decline in residential real estate sales, residential home sales increased 24% in March from sales figures in February, according to statistics released by the B.C. Real Estate Association.
Total residential sales in March rose to $2.3 billion from $1.5 billion in February. Total sales in Greater Vancouver rose 51% to $1.2 billion from $810 million in February, according to BCREA statistics.
The increase last month was the second consecutive month of gains due to reduced mortgage rates and increased affordability, said Cameron Muir, BCREA's chief economist. "Housing is now more affordable than at any time in the last three years."
The price of a home in B.C. has fallen 12% in the past 12 months. The average price for a home in B.C. fell to $424,122 from the average price of $483,291 in March 2008.
In Greater Vancouver, the average price of a home has fallen 13.9% to $530,763 from $616,496 a year ago.
The Okanagan has seen the greatest declines in residential prices over the past year, falling 17.2%.
Despite the declines, the number of active listings has increased, both on a monthly and yearly basis. Total number of active listings has risen to 48,372, which is 3% more than the total number of listings in February, and 20% more than the total number listed in March 2008.
Total sales, however, remain lower than a year ago. The total value of home sales has fallen 34.4% to $2.3 billion from $3.5 billion in March 2008.