January sees the MLS® home market wake up with thoughts of spring in its head. Sellers list their homes, buyers buy and the real estate cycle starts again.
As Ron Todson, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board says, "Starting early in the year, we typically see a 'restocking of our shelves' in advance of the spring market, which is a positive trend for buyers in that it creates new opportunities for them."
Sellers are doing their part. Residential new listings were 7 per cent above the 10-year average for January. Last month saw more new listings than any time since last July. It's a repeat of what's happening in the Greater Vancouver market, and seems to indicate a new-found confidence in the market.
Buyers, on the other hand, were a bit shy, with January sales at 8 per cent under the 10-year average. Real Estate Agents we've talked to say that people have been eager to buy, but haven't had enough product to choose from because of the lack of new listings in the last six months. Leo Ronse of Royal LePage Wolsetencroft in Langley puts it this way:
"A big surprise last year was that there was low inventory. I do a lot of my business in the South Langley and Brookswood and Murrayville and Cedar Ridge area. I found that listings were down and low inventory, but the buyers were still there wanting to buy."
Spring might hold the cure. In a video interview with REW.ca, Ron Todson said, "The spring market is traditionally a good time. People are feeling better in general, we have great weather here so people are starting to get out and starting to look. I'm finding in my office that Real Estate Agents are saying that they are much busier than the fall market."
Sales and Listings
There were 666 home sales* in FVREB territory in January: 395 were detached houses (59.3 per cent of sales), 143 were townhouses or attached properties (21.4 per cent) and 128 were apartments (19.2 per cent).
What's Up, What's Down - At a Glance Jan 2014/Dec 2013 Jan 2014/ Jan 2013 Overall Home Sales -12.1% +23.1% - Detached -2.7 +26.6% - Townhouse -29.9% +21.2% - Apartment -13.5% +15.3% New Listings +170.7% -0.9% Active Listings -0.1% -12%
In all, 2,171 homes came on the market in January, compared to 802 in December. That's a 170-per-cent jump, but don't be alarmed. December is the slowest month of the year for new listings. January's new listings were within spitting distance of last January's 2,192, and, as mentioned, above the 10-year average.
The active listings total for residential properties was 5,288 at the end of January, with a sales-to-active-listings ratio of 12.5still a buyer's market.
For local market details, see the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board statistics, broken down by community.
MLS® Benchmark Prices
Benchmark prices remain flat, giving buyers lots of time to look around. Price movements have been very gradual since 2011 for townhouses and condos, and since about mid 2013 for detached houses. Fraser Valley MLS® Benchmark Prices, % Change Jan 2014 Dec 2013 Jan 2013 Detached $552,500 +0.5% +2.2% Townhouse $297,600 +1.5% +1.3% Apartment $192,300 -0.2% -4%
Ron Todson sees sales improving in the next two years, but prices remaining stable. "We expect sales to go up about 8 per cent for 2014 and up about 7 per cent in 2015. As far as the prices go, we expect that there will be a slight rise by about 1 per cent, which is good news for people interested in buying. Because interest rates are still very low, it is going to be affordable for more people." Here's the complete video interview with Ron Todson and REW.ca's Janai York.
