demographics
04. demographics
A confluence of factors results in rapid growth in BC’s population at the end of 2021. Expect this trend to continue in 2022.
THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN REAL ESTATE: MIGRATION, MIGRATION, MIGRATION
At the micro level, real estate is all about location—for the better or the worse. Show me a property with views, waterfront, or a little separation from the urban plebeians and I’ll show you a property that, all else being equal, has more value than the alternative. At the macro level, housing markets are supported by a variety of economic, financial and demographic factors. Here in British Columbia, migration to the province and its regions has supported demand and buttressed prices over the recent past. This has come through clearly in the most recent data on quarterly population changes in the province, with all of BC's growth in Q4 2021—and then some—coming via net migration. (A total of 1,089 were lost through the process of natural change, which is the difference between the number of births and deaths in a period.)
Notably, net international migration, which includes those here temporarily (like students and workers with visas) and those here more permanently (immigrants), added 19,324 people during the quarter—in contrast to the 3,462 people added in the same quarter one year earlier in the thick of the pandemic. An additional 3,333 people settled in BC from other parts of the country (again, on a net basis), as this province’s strong labour markets, lifestyle features, and approach to navigating the pandemic attracted more people than any other province or territory in the country. Elevated immigration targets, the lowest unemployment rate in the country, and, well, mountains and ocean mean elevated migration levels, and the associated heightened demand for housing, which will continue for the foreseeable future.
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