Fraser Valley still a split market, with detached home prices up 10 per cent annually compared with townhomes up 2.7 per cent and condo prices dropping
Joannah Connolly
Other
The Fraser Valley real estate market continued its hot streak in August, rounding out the second busiest summer ever in the region, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) reported September 2.
There were 1,525 residential unit sales processed on the MLS in August, an increase of 35.6 per cent compared with the 1,125 home sales in August last year.
Jorda Maisey, FVREB president, said, “High consumer confidence and low mortgage rates continue to drive the activity we’ve seen in our market this summer.
“This year marks one of the busiest summer markets we’ve ever had in the Fraser Valley, second only to 2005.”
The number of new residential listings this August rose 2.9 per cent year over year. However, inventory remained extremely tight, with active home listings falling 25 per cent versus August last year.
Sales and Listings
Single-family detached home sales increased 33.8 per cent compared with last August, although they fell 24.2 per cent compared with July’s high figures, reflecting a seasonal slowdown and tighter inventory.
Sales of townhouses and other attached properties in the region increased 39.8 per cent year over year, in line with the recent rising trend for townhouses, and dropped 21.2 per cent month over month.
Fraser Valley condos sales increased a similar 35.9 per cent year over year but dropped a more moderate 8.7 per cent compared with July.
Maisey added, “Even with the [summer] season, sales last month remained 25 per cent higher than the board’s 10-year average for August.”
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Fraser Valley: What’s Up, What’s Down |
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Aug/Jul 15 |
Aug 15/14 |
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Overall Home Sales |
-21.2% |
+35.6% |
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– Detached |
-24.2% |
+33.8% |
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– Townhouse |
-21.2% |
+39.8% |
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– Apartment |
-8.7% |
+35.9% |
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New Listings |
-13.9% |
+2.9% |
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Active Listings |
-5.4% |
-25.1% |
The number of new residential listings increased again in August, rising 2.9 per cent year over year to 2,012 compared with the 1,956 new listings seen in August 2014.
However, this annual rise was driven entirely but a jump in detached home listings, which rose 7.5 per cent, compared with townhomes and condos, with dropped 5.1 and 1.2 per cent respectively.
In total, there were 5,020 active home listings at the end of August, a drop of 25.1 per cent from the 6,698 listings available in August last year, as demand continued to outstrip supply. This was particularly severe in townhome listings, which were down 32.6 per cent annually.
MLS Benchmark Prices
In August, the benchmark price of a detached Fraser Valley house was $626,400, a rise of 10.5 per cent compared with August 2014 when it was $569,800.
Fraser Valley townhouse prices in August rose a much more modest 2.8 per cent year over year to $306,700, despite increasing sales and decreasing supply.
Resale condominium apartments in the Valley were yet again the only property type to see prices falling year over year, by 2.4 per cent in August to $191,900 – likely because of ever-increasing competition from new condo sales in the region.
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Fraser Valley MLS Benchmark Prices, % Change |
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August 2015 |
Aug/Jul 2015 |
August 2015/2014 |
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-Detached |
$629,400 |
+1.3% |
+10.5% |
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-Townhouse |
$304,900 |
+0.6% |
+2.8% |
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-Apartment |
$192,700 |
+0.4% |
-2.4% |
To see home prices, sales and listings broken down by community, see the FVREB August 2015 statistics package.
© 2015 Real Estate Weekly