February was a record-setting month for B.C. home sales

The B.C. Real Estate Association said February was a record-setting month for sales around the province.

Almost 11,000 homes changed hands last month, up 89 per cent from the same time last year and over 1,000 sales higher than the previous February record set in 2016.

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The average MLS residential price in B.C. was just under $890,000, the association said, 17 per cent higher than February of last year.

“Near-record sales in Metro Vancouver, combined with unprecedented housing demand outside of Metro Vancouver, continues to drive a blistering pace of home sales in BC,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a statement.

The number of active residential listings decreased to 20,185 units, the lowest level of provincial active listings on record, going back to 2000.

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New listings have increased, the BCREA said, but inventory “remains severely depleted.”

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“There is a drought of resale inventory across the province,” Ogmundson said. “With so few listings, and with so much demand for single-detached homes, average prices have increased dramatically.”

Earlier this month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said more than 3,700 properties in the region were sold in February, a 73 per cent increase from a year ago and nearly 43 per cent higher than the 10-year average for the month.

Sales were particularly strong in the Fraser Valley.

— with files from Gord Macdonald