Residential home sales across the province dropped nearly 12% in 2012, compared with 2011, according to a new report by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).
The decline in dollar value was 19.1% – to $34.8 billion – over the same period, the BCREA reports. The average residential price in B.C. – $514,836 – fell 8.3% compared with average sale prices in 2011.
The province-wide decline is less steep than in the Greater Vancouver area, which dropped nearly 23% in 2012, according to a Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) report last week.
"A notable pullback in consumer demand in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley during 2012 was more than enough to offset increases in home sales in the Okanagan, Kootenays and BC Northern regions," said Cameron Muir, BCREA's chief economist.
"At least half of the 8% decline in the B.C. average home price was the result of fewer luxury homes selling in Vancouver and fewer overall Vancouver home sales relative to the rest of the province in 2012."
In December, residential home sales were down 28.6% compared with December 2011.
