A modest improvement in B.C.’s housing market is seen this year.

Home sales across the province are anticipated to increase 2.1 percent, according a forecast by the B.C. Real Estate Association.

In Greater Vancouver, a total of 26,500 residential properties are projected to be traded, a 5.8 percent recovery from 2018.

Last year, home sales in the region dropped 31.6 percent compared to 2017, with 25,051 homes sold.

“The BC economy continues to be highly supportive of housing demand,” according to the BCREA forecast released Monday (February 25).

The housing market in Greater Vancouver is also anticipated to grow at a bigger rate of 13.2 percent in 2020, with 30,000 properties changing ownership.

“Modest improvement in consumer demand is expected to unfold over the next two years as households further adjust to the mortgage stress test,” according to the BCREA.

The association is referring to rules that took effect on January 1, 2018, which require borrowers to qualify for a rate equal to the greater of the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate or their contractual rate, plus two percent.

Sales in B.C. fell in 2018 below the 10-year average of 84,000 units, with only 78,345 units sold.

For 2019, sales across the province are forecast to rise to 80,000 units.