Home sales in B.C. dropped by a quarter in 2018, with analysts blaming tighter mortgage restrictions.

According to the B.C. Real Estate Association, about 78,000 home sales were recorded last year, compared to roughly 103,700 the year before.

91裸聊视频淭he sharp decline in affordability caused by the B20 mortgage stress test is largely to blame for decline in consumer demand last year,91裸聊视频� said Cameron Muir, the association91裸聊视频檚 chief economist, in a news release Tuesday.

The federal government enacted strict mortgage rules on Jan. 1, 2018, including a new stress test for home buyers as a way to cool off the hot real estate market.

But the dip in the number of sales had no dent in the average price of a B.C. home, which increased by 0.4 per cent last year to $712,508.

Nationwide, excluding Greater Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area 91裸聊视频� the most active and expensive markets 91裸聊视频� the average annual sale price was just under $375,000.

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B.C.91裸聊视频檚 dip in sales mirrored the rest of the country, which saw the weakest annual sales since 2012.

91裸聊视频淭he stress-test has weighed on sales to varying degrees in all Canadian housing markets and will continue to do so this year,91裸聊视频� Canadian Real Estate Association president Barb Sukkau said in a news release.

But while the province91裸聊视频檚 average housing price increased, Canada overall faced an average decrease of 4.9 per cent.

BMO Capital Markets senior economist Robert Kavcic took the drops to be signs that the market has softened and 91裸聊视频渢he headline-grabbing drama in recent years has largely run its course.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 probably not a stretch to think that the Canadian housing market has entered into a prolonged period of relative stagnation, where sales are roughly flat and prices no longer outrun inflation,91裸聊视频� he wrote in a note to clients.

91裸聊视频淭his would be a big change compared to conditions we91裸聊视频檝e experienced over the past decade, especially in Toronto and Vancouver, but it91裸聊视频檚 not at all uncommon when looking back through history and across different markets.91裸聊视频�

Vancouver, he pointed out, finished the year at the lowest seasonally adjusted level since the Great Recession, leaving buyers in control.

Looking ahead, TD Bank economist Rishi Sondhi predicted declines seen in December will weigh on residential investment and overall economic growth across all markets.

91裸聊视频淥ur forecast calls for Canadian sales to basically tread water after 201891裸聊视频檚 plunge, as the impact of rising borrowing costs and tighter lending conditions are countered by strong population gains and on-going job growth,91裸聊视频� Sondhi said in a note to investors.

91裸聊视频淪till, the level of sales will remain relatively low compared to recent years.91裸聊视频�

With files from Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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