Consumer confidence in the B.C. real estate market may be increasing, according to a BC Real Estate Association survey released Wednesday.
The survey conducted in May by the Mustel Group found that 41% of B.C. residents plan to buy a home in the next five years. That's up from 38% in a similar survey in January.
Metro Vancouverites contributed to the increase as 46% of Lower Mainland residents said they plan to buy a home in the next five years compared with 35% of residents elsewhere in B.C. No regional differences were found in the January survey, which suggests that consumer confidence may be growing in the province's urban region.
About 23% of respondents said they plan to purchase a home in the next three to five years, up from 17% in January. Those under the age of 35 were the most inclined to buy (60%).
Changes in the economy have also shifted the barriers to home buying. While 35% of respondents said in January and May that affordability was a barrier to buying a home, 19% cited financial issues and interest rates. That's down from 23% in January.
However, 18% said they didn't earn enough to quality for a mortgage, up from 10% in January, which suggests that wages and job security, which have dropped in recent months, is becoming a bigger barrier to home ownership.
Although, a quarter of respondents said they didn't have any purchasing barriers. That's up from 13% in January and indicates that consumer confidence is improving.
"We've had five consecutive months of increasing home sales," said BCREA president John Tillie said, "which may suggest that the optimism uncovered in this survey is being reflected in provincial home sales."
Multiple listing service (MLS) sales rose 40% to 9,970 units in June 2009 compared with sales in the same month a year ago. Total volume sales rose to $4.6 billion from $3.3 billion. June sales marked the fifth consecutive month of rising sales and the highest activity since January 2008.
Metro Vancouver sales jumped 64.1% in June to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion. Almost 4,320 units were sold in the region. That's up 74.3% from 2,478 in June 2008.
Sales volume rose 34.4% in the Fraser Valley, 33.3% in Victoria, 27.8% in the South Okanagan and 13.1% in Kamloops to round out June's top five markets.