The B.C Real Estate Association reports that home sales posted an annual drop of nearly 35 percent in April.

This comes amid rising interest rates, which has dampened buyer activity.

As a result, the ratio of sales-to-active-listings also dipped in April 2022 compared to the same month last year.

“Provincial active listings were 7.5 per cent lower than this time last year, though listings are starting to accumulate in some markets as demand fades,” the BCREA stated in a report Thursday (May 12).

To cite an example, listings in Chilliwack saw a 39.7 percent annual increase in home listings.

So did Vancouver Island, with an increase of 13.2 percent.

Over at Powell River, it was an 85.5 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the markets in Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Victoria witnessed annual drops in home listings in April 2022.

The decrease in home listings was particularly sharp in Greater Vancouver, with a decrease of 14.6 percent.

For the Fraser Valley and Victoria, it was 8.9 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.

In April this year, realtors across B.C. sold 8,939 residential properties.

This marks a 34.9 percent decrease from April 2021.

The average price of a home in B.C. increased on an annual basis in April 2022 to $1.065 million.

That’s 12.9 percent more than the $943,765 price recorded in April 2021.

BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson noted in the report that mortgages have “sharply increased”.

Ogmundson noted that mortgage rates have exceeded four percent “for the first time in a decade”.

“With interest rates rising, demand across BC is now on a path to normalizing,” the BCREA economist said.

“However,” Ogmundson added, “given existing levels of supply, markets conditions remain tight.”

The ratio of sales-to-active-listings dropped in April 2022 to 38.3 percent from the 54.4 percent level in the same month last year.

This indicates that sellers remain in control.

A balanced market involves a sales-to-listings ratio of between 12 percent and 20 percent.

A report released Wednesday (May 11) by real-estate marketing firm rennie suggested that a balanced market may occur this summer in markets served by the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley real estate boards.

On a provincial level, the BCREA indicated in its report that it will “likely take a year or more for the supply of listings to return to balanced market levels”.

The Bank of Canada has made two increases so far this year in its interest-setting rate, which now stands at one percent.

The central bank is expected to hike its rate further through 2022 and 2023.