BC market booms in March helped by Alberta’s woes

While Alberta’s economic concerns over the oil industry continue it seems that the situation is good news for neighbours in British Columbia.

While Alberta’s economic concerns over the oil industry continue it seems that the situation is good news for neighbours in British Columbia. While times have been good in the energy sector, workers from BC have been crossing the border to buy homes in Alberta; now they are staying put. BMO economist Robert Kavcic told the Financial Post: “Net migration between those two provinces has gone from about 10,000 per year in Alberta’s favour to about zero now.” The average sale price in BC was $641,799 in March according to the BC Real Estate Association. That’s up 14.1 per cent from a year ago and sales volume is up 37.6 per cent year-over-year. While Vancouver accounts for much of the dollar-increases with an average selling price in the city reaching $891,652, other BC cities are also seeing large gains. In the Fraser Valley there has been a 45.4 per cent increase in sales in a year and The South Okanagan rose by 30.3 per cent.