Metro Vancouver housing prices will continue to rise after the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a drag on sales growth as homebuyers’ budgets shrink, according to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp.’s spring outlook Thursday.

CMHC senior analyst Braden Batch predicted that Metro’s housing market will face the same housing affordability and supply-shortage challenges that existed pre-pandemic.

He said demand for housing in Vancouver last year went in two different directions: demand for home ownership expanded, and demand for rental housing receded.

The COVID-19 lockdown resulted in a major decline in the typical flow of migrants into the Vancouver region, especially very young adults and students, while lower mortgage rates triggered a burst of move-up and first-time buyers entering a market that was already experiencing dwindling inventories before 2020, added Batch.

“Vancouver’s housing market will adjust to reopening borders and development in fu...

One third of BC residents live in a strata home, whether it’s a condo, townhouse, or multi-plex unit.

Strata homes are usually more affordable than their single-family counterparts. They can also lessen the burdens of home ownership, with strata residents sharing responsibilities for things like maintenance, snow shoveling, and security. And while these homes tend to be smaller, they may also have access to amenities like a pool or gym. 

Metro Vancouver’s real estate market has been picking up steam since last fall, culminating in record sales and new listing activity last month. In an active market like this, seeking professional advice from a REALTOR® is more important than ever.

With this in mind, the Real Estate Council of BC (Council) and the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate (OSRE) released a joint statement advising home buyers and sellers to seek professional advice, do their research, and understand the risks involved before buying or selling a home.

Tony Gioventu doesn’t like referring to surging insurance costs facing B.C. strata corporations and condo owners as a perfect storm.

“It’s a bad description,” said the executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of BC.

Instead, Gioventu said a series of factors – many of which are global – have been compounding since late 2019 to create what he describes as a “nasty little storm” for British Columbians.

A February report from LowestRates.ca, which allows users to compare insurance, mortgage, credit card and loan rates, revealed condo insurance premiums in B.C. increased 18% between 2019’s fourth quarter and 2020’s fourth quarter.

According to LowestRates.ca’s estimates, about half of British Columbians live in strata housing, which can cover everything from condos to townhouses (the provinces pegs it closer to just under one-third of the population).

A December 2020 BC Financial Services Authority report...

VANCOUVER -- The province announced the "first steps" of its plan to address B.C.'s rising strata insurance rates Tuesday morning.

The changes are meant to bring transparency to the industry, close loopholes surrounding depreciation reports and help strata owners and corporations more information when it comes to making decisions, the province says.

Rising strata insurance rates are a major financial pressure during what is an already challenging time, Finance Minister Carole James said.

"This is an extremely complex issue playing out in the private insurance industry, but that doesn't lessen our government's commitment to doing what we can to make the situation better," James said.

She said the province first became aware of "significant shifts" in insurance premiums late last year, that went "well beyond...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association estimates that economic growth will remain strong enough to support a boost in sales next year after a substantial decline in 2018, according to its latest forecast.

When the dust settles at the end of this year, association chief economist Cameron Muir expects sales recorded through the Multiple Listing Service will have fallen 23 per cent to 80,000 transactions, compared with 103,768 in 2017.

“However, continuing strong performance in the economy combined with favourable demographics is expected to push home sales above their 10-year average in 2019,” Muir said Thursday in releasing the forecast.

Province wide, Muir’s forecast is for sales to rise 12 per cent to almost 90,000 units, but with a record number of new homes under construction and high levels of inventory, home prices will be more in keeping with inflation.

In Metro Vancouver, that is likely to mean sales in the region covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater...

VANCOUVER – Home sales in the Vancouver area posted their second-highest ever November sales as they climbed 40.1 per cent compared with a year ago.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales on the Multiple Listing Service in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,524 last month.

That was up from 2,516 a year ago and down slightly from 3,646 in October.

“The ratio of sales to home’s available for sale reached 44 per cent in November, which is the highest it’s been in our market in nine years.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver amounted to 3,392 in November compared with 3,016 in the same month last year.

The strength in the Vancouver market has continued even as the housing market in many areas of the country has cooled with the economy.

The sales for November...