Home prices in Greater Vancouver will grow slightly next year after a double-digit increase this year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says.
The region's average MLS house price is expected to climb three per cent in 2011, following a 12-percent jump in 2010, CMHC said Monday.
Most of the increase in 2010 took place in the early part of the year and the flattening in prices that has begun will spill into next year, the agency said.
Home sales in the area are expected to remain stable until mid-2011, thanks to attractive mortgage rates, healthy migration and job growth, CMHC said.
As the economy and job market strengthen later in 2011, sales are expected to pick up steam.
Fewer new listings and a steady pace of sales will gradually reduce the inventory of resale homes on the market, the agency said.
"Balanced market conditions that have been established in recent months will continue over the next nine to 12 months," CMHC senior market analyst Robyn Adamache said.
Home construction will post a modest increase next year, nearing its 10-year average level, as demand for new houses intensifies, the agency said.
As in the Vancouver area, house prices for the province as a whole will show modest growth next year, CMHC said.
Resales across B.C. should rise in 2011 but will remain below their 10-year average, it said.
"Builders are expected to begin construction on more new homes next year in response to steady housing demand," regional CMHC economist Carol Frketich said.
Separately, the B.C. Real Estate Association said average MLS home prices across the province reached $521,859 in October, up six per cent from the same month a year earlier.
Seasonally adjusted sales climbed two per cent in October from September 2010.
"B. C. home sales have posted moderate gains since the summer months," association chief economist Cameron Muir said.
"Consumer demand was bolstered by a double dip in mortgage interest rates and the associated increase in purchasing power."
Active residential listings across B.C. have fallen 18 per cent since June, Muir said.
"However, the housing market remains tilted in favour of homebuyers," he said.
The City of Richmond said it has set a record for building permits issued annually. At the end of October, the city had processed 1,511 permits with a construction value of more than $769 million.
"This far exceeds the $163 million value in 2009 and beats Richmond's previous record of $658 million in 2006," the city said.
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