2 Percent Increase this year...

The average price of a home in British Columbia is forecast to increase two per cent to $517,000 this year, the B.C. Real Estate Association said in a news release this morning. VANCOUVER - The average price of a home in British Columbia is forecast to increase two per cent to $517,000 this year, the B.C. Real Estate Association said in a news release this morning. The BCREA housing forecast for the first quarter of 2011 also projects home prices will remain relatively unchanged in 2012, declining by 0.4 per cent to $515,400. .B.C. Multiple Listing Service residential sales are forecast to increase eight per cent from 74,640 units in 2010 to 80,900 units this year, and increase another 4 per cent to 83,950 units in 2012. “British Columbia housing markets are returning to normalcy after two years of volatility,” Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist, said in the release. “Employment and population growth will fuel consumer demand over the next two years. However, higher mortgage interest rates and tighter credit conditions for low equity home buyers will limit home sales to below the ten-year average of 87,600 units.”