2021 has been another record-breaking year for home sales in British Columbia. In fact, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association’s (BCREA) 2021 Fourth Quarter Housing Forecast, residential sales will amount to a staggering 121,450 units by the end of the year. This is nearly 29% higher than the 94,013 sales in 2020, and even beats the previous record of 112,425 units that had been set in 2016.
With sales at an all-time high, a lot of people are wondering what will become of the real estate market in 2022. Are we set to have another record breaking year? Or will we finally have the crash that a lot of first-time home buyers have been waiting for?
Here are some predictions for 2022 real estate trends for British Columbia.
Falling Sales – At Least Slightly
In 2022, the BCREA predicts that BC will experience a decrease in Multiple Listing Service (MLS) residential sales, though it may not be the crash that some people have been hoping for this year. Sales are only expected to fall by about 15% to 102,750 units.
Though it is a significant decrease, this is obviously still a strong showing for the housing market. One of the reasons demand will likely continue to be high is the federal government’s increase in immigration targets for the next three years. Canada is looking to welcome around 400,000 immigrants a year from 2021 – 2023. Of course, not all of them will settle in BC, but you certainly can’t count them out.
Overall, the BC real estate market is still going to see a lot of activity in 2022, though it shouldn’t be breaking any records this time around. Whether this is the start of a general downturn for the housing market in the upcoming years remains to be seen.
Increased Prices
In their Housing Forecast, the BCREA predicted a substantial 17% increase in home prices in 2021. Thankfully, this trend isn’t expected to continue at the same rate in the upcoming year. Rather, home prices should only see about a 3% increase in 2022.
This may not be great news for those looking to buy, but it certainly is for those looking to sell their homes. 2022 is likely going to be a seller’s market once again, so those who have been toying with the idea of moving may want to take note.
Continued Interest in Vancouver/Greater Vancouver
Those who have been following Canadian real estate trends this past year may have noticed that a lot of people have been leaving urban areas for more suburban ones. This may have been due to a few different factors, such as lower home prices and/or the wider availability of remote work since the onset of the pandemic.
However, despite this trend, the Vancouver/Greater Vancouver area has still been attracting a lot of interest, both from Canadian and international buyers. With increased immigration expected within the next few years, this area is likely going to remain a seller’s market.