B.C. home sales jumped 13.9% in May compared with the same period a year before — the biggest increase in numbers for the month since before the 2008 recession.
The B.C. Real Estate Association reported 8,729 residential sales were made last month while the total sales dollar volume hit $4.9 billion, an increase of 20.6 % compared with May 2013.
The average price for a home rose to $565,233 in May, a 5.8% increase from the year before.
Sales in Greater Vancouver were about on par with the rest of the province, rising 13.4%.
Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley, however, saw sales rise 21.9% and 19.7%, respectively.
The only jurisdictions to take a dip were northern B.C., which dropped 1.1%, and Kamloops, which dropped 5.9%.
While the 8,700 home sales in May sales were the strongest since 2007, they still pale in comparison to the pre-recession days when B.C. had more than 11,000 sales in May of 2007 and 2006.
The 2008 financial crisis had deep impacts on the global housing market but it did not begin to unfold until September of that year. B.C. homes sales had already fallen significantly by May 2008.
