Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in BC are forecast to decline 34.4 per cent from a record high 2021 to 82,345 units this year. In 2023, MLS® residential sales are forecast to fall an additional 11.4 per cent to 72,960 units.

“The factors that drove unprecedented housing market activity over the past two years, including record low mortgage rates, buyer preference for extra space and the ability to work remotely, are now unwinding,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “As a result, there has been a significant shift in the housing market, which we anticipate will continue through 2023.”

With continued high-interest rates and what looks like a difficult 2023 ahead for the Canadian economy, we anticipate that market activity is going to fall below normal levels next year. On the supply side, slow sales activity has led to an increase in inventory, but from record lows. The rapid shift in market conditions has weighed on prices in the second half of this year, though active listings growth has slowed and is short of levels where we tend to see more substantial downward pressure on prices. However, price levels have fallen from their peak earlier this year, so even flat prices from current levels will translate to the provincial average price being down about 5 per cent in 2023.