Canadian Housing Statistics Program, Properties sold in 2018
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Released: 2021-08-11
The article "Residential real estate sales in 2018: Characteristics of properties sold," released today, is the first of a three-part series on residential real estate sales, published in Housing Statistics in Canada. This series will provide new insights on the real estate markets of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia, by examining the properties sold from January 1 to December 31, 2018, along with the characteristics of their buyers.
The analysis provides an overview of the geographic distribution, property type, sale price and living area of properties sold. It will represent an important point of comparison to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath on the real estate sector.
Residential sales activity is highest in British Columbia
British Columbia had the highest share of properties sold out of the provincial residential property stock, comprising almost 8% of all properties in the province, followed by Nova Scotia (5.7%) and New Brunswick (5.2%). These include market sales to independent and unrelated parties, as well as non-market sales (sales by related parties, sales of special interest and foreclosures). The remainder of this analysis focuses on market sales only.
Chart 1
British Columbia has the highest share of residential properties sold as a share of the provincial stock
In all three provinces, residential market sales activity was higher in the census metropolitan areas (CMA) compared with outside of CMAs. The difference was most pronounced in Nova Scotia, where 5.3% of residential properties within the Halifax CMA were sold, compared with 3.5% outside the CMA. Kelowna (7.8%) in British Columbia had the highest share of residential property sales among the CMAs of all three provinces.
Semi-detached houses, row houses and condominium apartments are more commonly sold
Although single-detached houses had the highest count of properties sold in the three provinces, these sales constituted a smaller share of their respective stock when compared with other property types. The share of residential properties sold was highest for semi-detached houses, row houses and condominium apartments, which tended to be more plentiful in CMAs. This difference in sales between both types of properties was most significant in New Brunswick, where 10.1% of semi-detached houses were sold, compared with 3.4% of single-detached houses.
While most vacant land properties are located outside CMAs, areas within CMAs saw a higher share of vacant land properties sold. This contrast was most pronounced in British Columbia, where 8.5% of vacant land properties within CMAs were sold, compared with 3.3% outside CMAs.
Chart 2
Single-detached houses and vacant land account for a smaller share of residential properties sold compared with other property types
Vacant land is nearly 15 times more expensive in British Columbia than in New Brunswick
The median price of properties sold varied greatly among the three provinces. The median price of properties sold in British Columbia was over three times the price in Nova Scotia, and almost four times the price in New Brunswick. The price gap was most pronounced for vacant land in British Columbia, where the median price was almost 9 times higher than in Nova Scotia and nearly 15 times higher than in New Brunswick.
Median sale prices were higher within CMAs relative to outside CMAs. This ratio was the highest in Nova Scotia, where properties in the Halifax CMA had a median sale price 2.3 times higher than properties outside the CMA. In British Columbia, the Vancouver CMA had the highest median sale price, at $695,000, almost two times more expensive than the median sale price of properties outside CMAs.
A more detailed analysis, including the price per square foot of the properties sold, is available in the article "Residential real estate sales in 2018: Characteristics of properties sold."
Note to readers
The data used in this study are compiled from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) and include data on properties sold from January 1 to December 31, 2018, which are linked to CHSP data for the reference year 2019. References to the stock of properties are from the reference year 2019.
The analysis in this article focuses on properties sold in market sales, which involve unrelated and independent parties. Non-market sales, such as sales by related parties, sales of special interest, sales of part-interest, forfeitures and foreclosures, are not included unless otherwise stated. A property may be sold multiple times from January 1 to December 31, 2018, but is only counted once.
Multiple properties may be included in the same sale, where one price was paid for multiple properties. A price adjustment is applied to these properties to estimate the price paid for each individual property.
Geographical boundaries
The CHSP disseminates data based on the geographical boundaries from the Standard Geographical Classification of 2016.
Definitions
Sale of property refers to whether a property had a transfer of ownership from one party to another party through a contractual agreement. A property is considered to have been sold on the date that the property was transferred to, recorded in, registered in or otherwise carried in the name of the party who purchased the property.
Market sale refers to an arm's length transaction where all parties act independently with no influence over the other.
Non-market sale refers to non-arm's length transactions, which includes distressed sales, foreclosures, trade and forfeitures, redemptions, sales of part interest, and special interest sales.
Property refers to land with legally defined boundaries and the constructions, works and improvements of a permanent nature located on, above or below its surface for which the rights to use and dispose can be assigned.
Sale price of property refers to the dollar amount set forth during the sale of the property as per the contractual agreement.
Products
The article "Residential real estate sales in 2018: Characteristics of properties sold," part of Housing Statistics in Canada (46280001), is now available.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte (343-998-7200; jean-philippe.deschamps-laporte@canada.ca).
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