Market strength carries into summer for Fraser Valley real estate

SURREY, BC – Continued demand for single family homes and townhomes resulted in the busiest July in five years for the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) processed 1,615 sales in July, an increase of 11 per cent compared to the 1,456 sales in July last year and 1.4 per cent above the 10-year average for the month.

 

Ray Werger, President of the Board, says, “July’s steady activity is a continuation of what we’ve been seeing all year. Our market has fully recovered from last year’s slump and has returned to what we typically see in the Fraser Valley, which is a steady, consistent market.”

 

In July, the Board received 2,724 new listings, a decrease of 2 per cent compared to July 2013 taking the number of active listings in Fraser Valley to 9,636, a decrease of 8 per cent compared to the volume available in July 2013.

Werger says, “Although our sales were slightly above average for the month, the volume of new listings added to the MLS® was 7 per cent lower than what’s typical for July, so for certain property types and price ranges we’re actually seeing a shortage of listings creating a seller’s market for particular homes.

 

“When demand starts to exceed supply it puts upward pressure on prices and in areas such as White Rock/South Surrey, North Delta and Langley we’ve seen an increase in benchmark prices of single family detached homes ranging from 3 to 6.6 per cent over the last year. It’s a different story for condos. In most of our market, there’s excellent selection and prices lower than they were one year ago offering tremendous opportunities for buyers.”

 

In July, the benchmark price, as determined by the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), of a ‘typical’ single family detached home was $568,300, an increase of 3 per cent compared to July 2013 when it was $551,000.

 

The HPI benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses increased by 0.2 per cent; going from $297,800 in July 2013 to $298,500 in July 2014. The benchmark price of apartments was $194,700 last month, a decrease of 3.6 per cent compared to $202,000 in July of last year.

Take a look at the latest Fraser Valley Real Estate Statistics for our local market, by following the link here, and call me to discuss how this information is used for buying and selling homes in your specific neighbourhood. You can reach me at 604-415-9800.