Slower B.C. real estate sales blamed on U.S. tariff uncertainty, association says

The British Columbia Real Estate Association says tariff uncertainty has slowed housing activity. New town houses are seen in Delta, B.C., with Mount Baker in Washington in the distance, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Real Estate Association says tariff uncertainty has slowed housing activity.

A board report says there were 4,947 residential sales in the province last month, down 9.7 per cent from the same time last year.

Prices also fell 2.4 per cent during that same period, with an average home costing just over $964,000 this year when it was $987,811 in 2024.

The association’s chief economist, Brendon Ogmundson, says there had been several months of momentum before the uncertainty around tariffs emerged.

He says apprehension from potential buyers will continue amid the trade war, although that’s tempered by lower interest rates on the horizon.

The association says the year-to-date dollar volume for home sales in B.C. is down 4.5 per cent to $8.8 billion from the same period last year.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.