Slight bump for “more balanced” Fraser Valley market
Inventory up, prices up in Fraser Valley
Steve Randall
REP
There was an 11.6% rise in home sales in the Fraser Valley in October compared to September.
Year-over-year sales remained subdued with the 1,155 sales through the MLS system of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board representing a 35.8% decrease from October 2017.
But the monthly gain is a positive note for the market says FVREB president John Barbisan.
“While slight, this is the first time since May that sales here have been on the upswing.” He noted. “We’re beneath typical activity levels for this time of year but it’s good to see that buyers and sellers are still finding success this season.”
Of the 1,155 sales, 438 were residential detached homes, 306 were townhouses, and 292 were apartments.
Inventory surged in the past year Meanwhile, active inventory was up 1.3% month-over-month – and 41.3% year-over-year – to 7,746. New listings increased 12% year-over-year to 2,776, a decline of 5.8% from September 2018.
“We’re in a much better spot in terms of overall inventory compared to this time last year, and now closer to a more balanced market,” added Barbisan. “Attached inventory in particular has seen notable gains, doubling year-over-year for townhouses and nearly tripling for apartments.”
Prices up year-over-year FVREB’s HPI figures show that the benchmark prices for a single-family detached home was $986,700, down 0.2% compared to September 2018 but up 1.1 per cent compared to October 2017
For townhomes, at $538,400, the benchmark price decreased 1.4% compared to September 2018 and increased 7.1% compared to October 2017.
And for apartments/condos, there was a month-over-month decrease of 1.3% while the annual rise was 17.2%, taking the benchmark price to $432,800.
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