Fraser Valley Inventory Peaks and Sales Settle for Fall
For a full September 2016 real estate update, please view the FVREB September 2016 News Release.
The once hot real estate market in the Fraser Valley has finally begun to ease off, dropping below 10-year sales averages. While many feel that this has occurred as a direct result of the foreign-buyer tax, others have suggested that the market was getting out of hand.
“What we’re experiencing is an environment where the summer sizzle has ceased, and demand is producing numbers in-line with what we’ve seen historically.”
(Charles Wiebe, President of Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.)
Even though sales have slowed down, real estate prices still remain significantly higher than last year, and there are more houses on the market. This could give potential buyers more leeway when negotiating a home purchase.
A 24.4% decrease in total sales of all property types since September of last year, and a decrease of 23% since August, suggests that buyers in the current market can still make a responsible investment.
| All Property Types | |||||
| Fraser Valley Grand Totals | Sep-16 | Sep-15 | % Change | Aug-16 | % Change |
| Sales | 1,305 | 1,727 | -24.4% | 1,694 | -23% |
| New Listings | 2,709 | 2,481 | 9.2% | 2,840 | -4.6% |
| Active Listings | 6,422 | 7,122 | -9.8% | 6,102 | 5.2% |
| Average Price | $596,310 | 589,528 | 1.2% | $613,230 | -2.8% |
It also took slightly longer to sell a house in September of 2016, 27 days was the average length of a listing before it sold compared with 17 days in June of 2016. Active levels of home inventory are higher than 2015 with 6,422 listings.
Fraser Valley sales to active listings ratio is around 20%. This is a more normalized condition than the overheated market experienced by buyers and sellers throughout the past year.
The benchmark for detached home prices rose to $878,100, a 37.3% increase. The benchmark in September of 2015 was $639.500. Townhome benchmarks also rose in September to $419,300, a 35.8% increase. Apartments were not far behind with a 26.6% increase to $250,000.
| Fraser Valley | Benchmark Price | Index (HPI) | % Increase/Month | % Increase/Year | |
| Combined | $637,400 | 213.4 | -0.8 | 35.0 | |
| Detached | $878,100 | 234.4 | -1.2 | 37.3 | |
| Townhouse | $419,300 | 186.2 | 0.2 | 35.8 | |
| Apartment | $250,000 | 176.9 | 0.5 | 26.6 | |
At the peak of home sales, very few subjects or conditions were seen in offers. As a result, many realtors are welcoming the cooling down period. Some have suggested that they are now in a better position to do their jobs more effectively. They are welcoming sufficient time to guide and protect their customers instead of just assisting them through somewhat reactionary purchases in a very heated market.
This next phase of home sales in the Fraser Valley will hopefully provide realtors with the breathing room required to offer clients the exceptional quality of service for which the BC Real Estate Market is known.
If you have any questions about the current market conditions, or a listing that has caught your eye, contact Natasha Taylor today at 778-316-4290 or email her directly at ntaylor@sutton.com.
