The housing market showed mixed signals in December. Home sales remained tepid to end the year, while housing starts gained steam for a second straight month. While elevated, the latter does not signal strength as starts largely reflects projects planned (and in the case of condominiums, pre-sold) years in advance and already in pre-construction stage. Current market conditions for new construction are weak due to excess housing supply.

In the resale market, B.C. MLS sales fell by 1.1 per cent to a seasonally-adjusted 6,033 units in December to reverse a 2.3 per cent rise the month before. This concluded a year of poor performance with annual sales falling by 5.7 per cent to 70,233 units. This was among the lowest levels observed since 2012, driven by steep declines in Lower Mainland markets. Economic uncertainties coupled with high prices were key drags in........

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