Demand for real estate in the Fraser Valley’s continued to boom in May, with real estate sales once more the highest ever recorded for that month, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) reported June 2.
The total sales of 2,911 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) – including residential, industrial and commercial – represented an increase of 47.8 per cent compared with May 2015.
However, this was a drop of 3.3 per cent compared with April 2016 figures released last month, said the board, and not close to the all-time high of March 2016.
When the numbers are broken out by residential transactions only, home sales were up nearly 48 per cent year over year and down by 3.3 per cent compared with April.
Like in Greater Vancouver, the number of new homes listed for sale rose dramatically year over year, but this was still nowhere near enough to satisfy demand, with total listings as of the end of May down by more than one third.
Sales and Listings
There were 2,911 total property sales (residential, industrial and commercial) reported by the FVREB in May – a figure that breaks all May records.
Within that figure was a total of 2,576 residential property sales, up 47.8 per cent compared with May 2015 but down 3.3 per cent versus April’s figures.
Detached homes in the region saw 1,404 sales in May, a rise of 29.2 per cent compared with the same month last year, but a 6.6 per cent month over month drop. Across the region, the average number of days to sell a detached home in May 2016 was 16 days, compared with 31 days in May 2015.
Townhouse, duplex and row home sales in the Fraser Valley leaped by 56.1 per cent year over year to 615 sales, likely due to the strong increase in supply of this housing type in the region and increasing demand for these homes. However, the total transactions in May were down 2.2 per cent compared with April.
Yet again, the biggest mover in the May market was condo-apartment sales, which have more than doubled since last year, rising by 112.6 per cent year over year to 532 sales. Condos were also the only housing type to increase month over month, at 4.7 per cent above April 2016.
Charles Wiebe, president of the board, said, “Demand is tremendous, still, for detached homes in our region, but it’s encouraging to see that the upward pace of that demand is leveling off.
“However, we’re also seeing the ripple effects as consumers are looking to townhomes and apartments in record numbers. This year, so far, is the busiest those markets have ever been.”
New homes listed on the MLS® in May recovered considerably since a year ago, up 25.7 per cent year over year to 3,113 as sellers continued to take advantage of the hot market. However, this was a drop of 7.5 per cent compared with April’s newly listed homes. The annual increase was driven by a new influx of townhome listings, up 34.6 per cent since last May.
Once again mirroring Greater Vancouver’s market, even these new listings could not keep up with demand, resulting in there being 3,815 homes available as of the end of May, a decline of 35.6 per cent compared with the 5,923 active listings one year previously, and a meagre 0.7 per cent month-over-month lift.
Benchmark Prices
Typical single-family homes in the Fraser Valley in May are priced at $834,200, a leap of 38.3 per cent over May 2015’s $603,100, and a rise of 7.4 per cent in a single month.
The benchmark price of a townhome, duplex or other attached home in the region was up 20.4 per cent year over year in May, to $365,000 – a 3.3 per cent increase over April 2016.
After slipping downwards in 2015, the benchmark price of condo-apartment units in the Valley continued its dramatic recover, rising 17 per cent year over year to a still-low $225,200. This was up 2.4 per cent over the previous month.
Prices in the Fraser Valley differ by city and neighbourhood. To see home prices, sales and listings broken down by community, see the FVREB May 2016 statistics package.
