B.C. homebuyers waiting on Bank of Canada to drop rates: economist

That’s the assessment of Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with the British Columbia Real Estate Association, after his organization released new figures that show real estate sales in B.C. dropped by 9.5 per cent in March, 2024 compared to March, 2023.

“March capped off a slow start to the first quarter of 2024,” Ogmundson said in a statement. “Despite a steep decline in fixed mortgage rates, buyers appear to be waiting on the Bank of Canada to lower its policy rate before jumping back into the market.” On April 10, the Bank of Canada held its overnight lending rate at five per cent, where it has remained since July 2023.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said at the time that the bank continues to look for evidence that the trend of declining inflation continues. While it has dropped in some areas, he specifically singled out housing as an area where it has remained high.“We don’t want to leave monetary policy this restrictive longer than we need to,” Macklem said. “But if we lower our policy interest rate too early or cut too fast, we could jeopardize the progress we’ve made bringing inflation down.

Sales on Vancouver Island dropped by 9.3 per cent, while sales in Greater Victoria dropped by 1.1 per cent in March 2024 compared to March 2023.The average residential price in March 2024 was $1.01 million, up some 6.5 per cent in March 2023, when it was $958,051.

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

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