B.C.'s home sales will continue to slump through 2013 but will rebound in 2014, according to a market forecast released this morning by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
According to CREA, B.C.'s home sales dropped 11.8% in 2012, with average prices sliding 8.3%.
Heading into 2013, the association predicts continuing declines in sales and average home sales prices, but at a more moderate rate. CREA forecasts that home sales will slide a further 2.4% in 2013, with prices sliding a parallel 2.4%.
However, according to CREA, B.C.'s real-estate market is set to rebound in 2014. The association is forecasting that the province will see a 9.5% annual increase in housing sales that year – or 72,300 units sold, compared with 2012's 67,637.
CREA is forecasting a more conservative price increase in B.C.'s housing market for 2014, forecasting a 1.1% increase in average home sales prices that year – or an average price of $508,400 in 2014 compared with 2012's $514,836.
Nationally, CREA is forecasting that after a 1.1% slide in real estate sales in 2012, activity will slide a further 2.9% this year and then rebound by 4.5% in 2014. On the price front, CREA says that after a 0.1% national average price increase in 2012, average housing prices will slide 0.2% in 2013 and then pick up by 1.7% in 2014.
CREA cautioned that provincial and national statistics don't capture what's happening in individual local markets.
"All real-estate markets are local, with prospects that can and do differ by region and community," said Wayne Moen, CREA president.
Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist, added that Canada can expect less volatility in housing sales heading into the forecast period.
"Mortgage rules are expected to remain as they are, so sales should be less volatile than they have been in recent years," Klump said.
"Interest rates are also expected to remain low as the economy grows and adds jobs, which is supportive for the resale housing market."
