The B.C. housing market is on fire — and not just in Vancouver

It’s not only the country’s most expensive market that is on fire in British Columbia, more homes traded hands throughout the province in March than in eight years.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association said Thursday that 9,101 homes were sold through the Multiple Listing Service last month, a 37.6 per cent increase in sales from a year ago. The total dollar volume was $5.8 billion, a 57.1% increase from a year ago while average prices climbed 14.1 per cent during the period to $641,799.

The Vancouver story has been well documented and the provincial statistics bear out the strength of that market. Greater Vancouver, where the average price of a home sold in March reached

There are plenty of questions surrounding B.C.'s real estate market in 2015 (though that may actually be a good thing). Fortunately, amid all the uncertainty, some sectors seem poised to outperform

To stock market investors, the phrase “wall of worry” refers to the negative factors that a market must surmount if it is to keep ascending. The wall can sometimes prevent other people from making sound decisions, possibly to the benefit of the investor.

Well, the wall of worry also pertains to the purchase of four walls, especially just now. For example, here are two questions, identical except for the preamble: With property valuations high and returns on investment low, and this at a time when resource industries are stumbling, is 2015 the right time

Housing Definitions for Seniors in B.C.

Assisted Living Residences (Registered)

Assisted Living residences offer housing, hospitality services and personal assistance to adults who can live independently but require regular help with daily activities. By law, in order to carry the Assisted Living designation, these residences must be registered with the provincial government.  In BC, this is the Assisted Living Registrar's Office.

Accommodation can range from private rooms with lockable doors in a home, to an apartment-style building with private self-contained suites, usually with their own bathrooms and cooking facilities. The residence provides a place where people can eat together and socialize.

Assisted Living operators provide five

New numbers suggest the B.C. housing market is failing to keep pace with inward migration, presenting investors with the kind of opportunity many thought was lost.

“There are 40,000 people moving to B.C. every year, mostly from overseas,” says Ozzie Jurock of Jurock Case Real Estate Action Group.

“That in turn, according to CMHC, creates a household formation of 30,000 units that we need to have every single year, either in rental values or new ownership. In the lower mainland alone, we have 19,090 new households formed, and it is expected to increase at that rate to 2018.”

The BCREA’s monthly data predicts housing starts to be slightly below 30,000 units in 2015, at 28,700, while residential sales are forecast to increase 1.2 per cent to 84,900 units