![Higher Mortgage Rates Will Slow Housing Activity in BC Through 2023 Higher Mortgage Rates Will Slow Housing Activity in BC Through 2023](https://s.realtyninja.com/static/media/med/7650_ee73c3b0_Higher_Mortgage_Rates_Will_Slow_Housing_Activity_in_BC_Through_2023.jpeg?width=400&dpr=2)
Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in BC are forecast to decline 34.4 per cent from a record high 2021 to 81,900 units this year. In 2023, MLS® residential sales are forecast to fall an additional 5 per cent to 77,790 units.
“Mortgage rates have risen at a much faster rate and to a higher level than previously anticipated,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Faced with a dramatic shift in the cost of borrowing, housing market activity is likely to fall well below normal over the next year.”
![](https://s.realtyninja.com/static/media/med/7650_1357d40e_BC_MLS_Residential_Sales.gif)
Weaker sales and rising inventory mean that some regions, largely in more expensive markets, have tipped into buyers’ market territory. Consequently, average MLS® home prices have come down from peak levels.
While the housing market is currently feeling the weight of higher interest rates, the downturn is unlikely to be long-lived as BC’s strong population growth combined with extremely favourable demographics means there will be no shortage of demand for housing in the province.
Source - BCREA