Home prices keep rising as demand – especially for condos – outpaces even a surge in new listings
After a “solid” April, home sales in the Fraser Valley jumped 21.5 per cent month over month in May, and recorded the highest level of activity since June last year.
The 2,417 residential sales recorded on the MLS® was the second-highest transaction total for any May on record, beaten out only by May last year.
“The further we get into this year’s market, the less 2016 looks like an anomaly in terms of demand and sales activity,” said Gopal Sahota, FVREB president. “If it wasn’t clear before, the Fraser Valley is now a prime, highly sought-after destination for home owners of all types.”
As in Greater Vancouver, the monthly sales increase was buoyed by a jump in new home listings, which increased nearly 27% compared with April as sellers’ concerns lifted.
Sales and Listings Breakdown
The 2,417 home sales in the Fraser Valley region in May was 6.2% lower than May last year, and 21.5% higher than April. However, this varies wildly when broken down by home type, revealing that the market is a very different one than the detached-home-driven market of a year ago.
Single-family home sales in the region totalled 1,188 units in May – an impressive 20.7% higher than April’s figure, but still a substantial 15.4% lower than May 2016.
Townhouse sales are similar to a year ago, with May’s 620 transactions virtually flat with May last year (+0.8%). But that’s an increase of 41.6% compared with April’s 438 sales.
Condo-apartment units tell a different story, with 609 sales in May marking a rise of more than 9% compared with even the super-hot market of a year ago. This is a comparatively modest month-over-month increase of 7.4% from April, since the condo market had already picked up rapidly by that month.
The property breakdown of new inventory reveals the source of those sales figures. New detached home listings in May, at 1,760, were 5.8% lower than the same time last year, but up 32.4% since April. Townhouses newly listed were the exact same figured – 689 – as May 2016, which is an 18.6% monthly rise.
But condo listings in the Fraser Valley diverged from the other two home types, with new listings rising 35.7% year over year, as well as 21.5% since April, to 753 units.
“We’re very happy to see the bump inventory we were looking for in April,” added Sahota. “I think sellers will certainly be glad that demand hasn’t let up since the start of the spring market, and more options for potential buyers is always a good thing.”
Despite this, because of the rapid condo sales throughout the month, total active condo listings at the end of May stood 31.3% lower than this time last year, at 660 units. This means that condos are being snapped up by buyers more quickly than they are being listed. Indeed, all home types saw an annual decline in active listings, totaling 9% lower than a year ago at 3,472 available homes.
Raised Bar for Benchmark Prices
Benchmark home prices in the Valley were once again up across the board, with all home types – even detached homes – setting new record prices.
The typical Fraser Valley home (composite property types) now has a benchmark price of $681,100, which is 14.7% higher than a year ago, and up 3% since April.
A single-family home is now priced at $915,800 – also a 3% month-over-month rise, an annual hike of 9.8 per cent, and a new record high.
Townhome prices in May rose 25.7% year over year to $458,900, which is a lift of 2.9% since April.
Reflecting their rapid sales increases and the gap in supply, condo-apartment units saw the biggest annual price rises in the region. A typical condo in the Fraser Valley is now priced at $295,000 – relatively modest compared with Greater Vancouver and with other home types, but a 31% increase over May last year and a 3.4% jump in a single month.
To see home prices, sales and listings broken down by community, see the FVREB May 2017 statistics package.
