It's been a whilesince back in early 2011, in factbut the Fraser Valley real estate market seems to have achieved balance again. For the second month in a row, its sales-to-listings ratio has been in the 18 22 per cent range.
Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president Ray Werger says, "There's a lot of optimism right now. It will take a few more months of numbers, but our 2014 market is already on track to outperform last year."
Sales and Listings
There were 1,299 MLS® home sales* in FVREB territory in April: 753 were detached houses (57.9 per cent of overall sales), 321 were townhouses or attached properties (24.7 per cent of sales) and 225 were apartments (17.3 per cent).
Townhouse sales increased by over 25 per cent compared both to last month and a year ago. Interesting, when you consider how many newly built townhouses are also available in the Fraser Valley. And their sales numbers are not included in the monthly MLS® statistics.
What's Up, What's Down - At a Glance Apr/Mar 2014 Apr 2014/ Apr 2013 Overall Home Sales +16.6% +7.9% - Detached +15.7% +2.6% - Townhouse +26.9% +25.4% - Apartment +7.1% +5.6% New Listings +14.1% +7.9% Active Listings +9.4% -7.6%
New listings are not quite keeping pace with sales, and that lag is keeping the inventory fairly low. A total of 2,649 homes came to market in April: 1,479 detached houses, 613 townhouses and 1557 condos.
Active listings consist of 3,602 houses, 1,507 townhouses and 1,786 condos, for a total of 6,895 properties, a decrease of 7.6 per cent from April of last year.
This is why sales-to-active-listings ratio has been rising.
As Ray Werger explains, "A measurement we rely on to gauge the health of the housing market is the ratio between sales and active listings and in April that number was the highest it's been in our region in three years. Last month, that ratio for both single family detached homes and townhomes was 21 per cent, meaning for every 100 homes available, 21 sold. That's a strong, balanced market."
Condos are still in buyer's market territory, however, with a sales-to-listings ratio of 12.6 per cent, the same as last month.
MLS® Benchmark Prices
According to Ray Werger, "In some of our areas we have an oversupply of condos and you'll see that reflected in prices. Generally, prices of benchmark or typical apartments have decreased over the past year. However, both buyers and sellers need to be aware that it depends on the community and the age and quality of the condo."
Fraser Valley MLS® Benchmark Prices, % Change Apr 2014 Mar 2014 Apr 2013 Detached $566,000 +0.5% +3.4% Townhouse $298,700 +0.5% -0.1% Apartment $196,300 +0.5% -3.7%
The availability of newly built condos could be a factor. According to the Urban Development Institute's State of the Market report, more new townhomes sold in the first quarter of this year than in the last five years.
Millennial buyers in particular like new builds, according to many studies of their attitudes and buying habits. New condos are designed to tick the boxes on their generational wish list: green, walkable, near transit, wi-fi everywhere and... well... sleek and new. Then there are the incentives that developers are offering as part of their marketing.
Some developers in the Fraser Valley are also building communities aimed at downsizing boomers, made to fit their house-sized furniture and offer a spot to park the RV.
Older, resale condos have to compete with this kind of highly targeted design and marketing, and that fact may be reflected in their slower sales.
For more details on local markets, see the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board statistics, broken down by community. FVREB comprises North Delta, North Surrey, Surrey, Cloverdale, South Surrey & White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission.
* FVREB's overall sales numbers include all types of property including commercial, agricultural and industrial. The statistics given in this article are strictly residential.
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