Oil shock halts BC housing recovery with September drop
In a market where many buyers are already grappling with affordability constraints, the prospect of rising borrowing costs can be enough to delay decisions and suppress demand well before any central bank announcement is made.
Bank of Montreal (BMO) chief economist Doug Porter, in an interview with Canadian Mortgage Professional, said the Bank of Canada’s language following its most recent rate hold suggested it was monitoring the oil price risk closely without yet treating it as a trigger for tightening.
“The longer these oil prices stay at these levels, the less confident I am in that call. It does increase the risk that the Bank at one point might feel that they have to raise interest rates,” he said.
Weakness spreads across BC markets
September’s contraction was nearly provincial in scope. Every BC region posted year-over-year sales declines except South Peace River and the Kootenays, a narrow carve-out that offered little relief at the provincial level.
Year-to-date, approximately 51,000 homes have sold across BC in 2026, running about 6% below the pace set during the same stretch in 2025.
