BC Northern Real Estate Board MLS® home sales decline from last August but remain above average
The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the BC Northern Real Estate Board totaled 491 units in August 2021. This decreased by 8.9% from August 2020.
Home sales were 8.1% above the five-year average and 14.1% above the 10-year average for the month of August.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 3,867 units over the first eight months of the year. This was a significant increase of 49.8% from the same period in 2020.
“Home sales were down, as expected from last August’s high reading when activity was on the rebound. That said, sales were still running above the average for this time of year,” said Sandra Hinchliffe, President of the BC Northern Real Estate Board. “New listings, on the other hand, were down from last August and well below average levels for this time of year. With new supply falling off by more than sales we continue to see overall inventory levels trending down to new record lows. It’s no surprise that with an ever-shrinking pool of listings prices are rising to new records, with average price levels reaching above $400K for the first time in history.”
The average price of homes sold in August 2021 was a record $400,411, up by 16.1% from August 2020.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $379,021, an increase of 14.9% from the first eight months of 2020.
The Board cautions that the average residential price is a useful figure only for establishing trends and comparisons over a period of time. It does not indicate an actual price for a home due to the wide selection of housing available over a vast geographic area (the Board serves an area covering over 600,000 square kilometers or 72% of the province).
The dollar value of all home sales in August 2021 was $196.6 million, a moderate gain of 5.8% from the same month in 2020. This was also a new record for the month of August.
The number of new listings saw a substantial decline of 14.1% from August 2020. There were 604 new residential listings in August 2021. This was the lowest number of new listings added in the month of August in more than 15 years.
New listings were 5.8% below the five-year average and 7.9% below the 10-year average for the month of August.
Active residential listings numbered 1,798 units on the market at the end of August, a sharp decrease of 16.9% from the end of August 2020. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of August in more than 25 years.
Active listings were 25.2% below the five-year average and 35.1% below the 10-year average for the month of August.
Months of inventory numbered 3.7 at the end of August 2021, down from the 4 months recorded at the end of August 2020 and below the long-run average of 6.6 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
BOARD & ASSOCIATION INFORMATION
The BC Northern Real Estate Board is an association of about 390 REALTORS® that provides services to and sets standards for members.
The BC Northern Real Estate Board covers the northern part of British Columbia, including Bulkley-Nechako, Cariboo, Fraser Fort George, Peace River/Fort Nelson, and Skeena/Queen Charlottes.