March data showed another soft month for BC's housing market
British Columbia’s resale housing market stayed in a low gear in March, with the province posting just 5,766 MLS residential transactions. That's 3.6% below the same month a year earlier and more than a third under its 10‑year March average.
The average MLS price slipped 2% year over year to $939,846, pulling provincial dollar volume down 5.6% to $4.21 billion.
Conditions remained uneven across the province’s boards. Greater Vancouver recorded 2,032 sales, down 2.5% from a year earlier, with an average price of about $1.2 million. Nearby Fraser Valley saw 944 sales, 4% lower year over year, at an average of $967,114.
Victoria’s board registered 550 sales, off 5.5%, but still carried the province’s highest average price at just over $1.02 million.
By contrast, more affordable regions such as BC Northern and Kamloops posted average prices of $446,194 and $608,228 respectively, with modest single‑digit price growth even as sales fell.
British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA)’s chief economist, Brendon Ogmundson, pointed to geopolitical shocks and macro headwinds.
“Global conflict leading to rising mortgage rates paired with a sluggish economy are presenting a challenge for a housing market recovery,” he said.
“Improved affordability and pent‑up demand should translate to an acceleration of activity, though the market will need a period of relative calm for households to build confidence.”
The March figures followed February data that already showed broad‑based weakness.
“Housing market activity continues to struggle, with sales declining from every region in the province compared to the same time last year,” Ogmundson said at the time, noting that hoped‑for 2026 sales gains now hinge on more stable economic conditions.
Those conditions have not yet clearly arrived. The Bank of Canada kept its policy rate at 2.25% at its March 18 decision, signalling little appetite for near‑term cuts even as growth stayed soft.
TD Economics recently projected only a “gradual, modest recovery” in national housing activity this year, while Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)’s outlook pointed to a “gradual housing market recovery beginning in 2026” after price declines in 2025, with British Columbia among the harder‑hit provinces.
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