The average home price in British Columbia has increased 23.5% in the past year to top $1 million for the first time, according to the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), despite total sales in January falling nearly 15% from a year earlier.

To put this in perspective, the average B.C. composite home price is more than $685,000 higher than the average in the other three western provinces and more than $500,000 more expensive than in Quebec, the third-most expensive market in the country.

Only Ontario, with an average home price of $998,000 comes close to B.C., according to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s national price map, which was released on February 15.

The BCREA reports that a total of 6,138 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service in January 2022, a decrease of 14.7% from January 2021…read more.