Annual sales increase across all property types makes November the second-busiest on record
Continued brisk real estate sales in the Fraser Valley – especially in attached homes – meant that last month was the second-busiest November on record, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) reported December 4.
The board processed 1,743 sales of all property types – including commercial and industrial – in November, a rise of 39.8% year over year, although it was a 3.1% decrease compared with October 2017. For a visual overview of November’s Fraser Valley real estate market trends, see our detailed infographic.
Looking at residential sales only, the 1,532 homes exchanging hands was a rise of 37.9% versus November 2016, and 6.7% lower than the previous month. The total was just shy of November 2015’s figure of 1,570 home sales.
The board said that attached sales represented 53% of all market activity for the month.
“Our attached market feels like our detached market used to,” said Gopal Sahota, FVREB president. “With our townhome and apartment inventory here, you have the same wide spectrum for pricing and supply that’s helping buyers of all types find success in the Valley.”
The strong market activity caused total inventory to drop 6.5% month over month to 5,129 listings, and fall 8.4% compared with November 2016.
FVREB reported 2,324 new listings in November, a 6.3% decrease from October 2017, but a jump of 29.7% compared with the slow November of 2016.
“As you can imagine, attached listings are moving fast and often facing multiple offer situations,” added Sahota.
The benchmark price for a home in the region, as a composite of all property types, stood at $755,800 at the end of November – a jump of 18.5% year over year and 0.6% higher than in October, making the figure a new record for the region.
Sales and Prices by Property Type
As has been the trend for the past year, detached homes saw the slowest market in November, although it was still strong. The 610 sales total was 29.2% higher than November last year, and a modest 3.6% drop from October’s 633 sales.
The benchmark price for a single family detached home in the Valley rose 13.2% year over year to $972,700, an increase of 0.1 per cent compared with October 2017.
Townhomes, duplexes, rowhomes and other attached houses performed the strongest in November, with sales rising a whopping 46.4% year over year to 426. That’s also 1.9% higher than in October this year.
At $505,700, the benchmark price for an attached house such as a townhouse in the Valley was 0.6% higher than in October 2017, and up 19% compared with November 2016.
There were 512 condo sales in the Fraser Valley in November – a rise of 42.5% over the same month last year, but a notable drop of 16.1% compared with the leap in activity seen in October.
This didn’t seem to damage condo prices, however. The price of a typical Fraser Valley condo rose 36.6% year over year to $376,700, an increase of 2% in the single month since October 2017.
To see home prices, sales and listings broken down by community, see the FVREB November 2017 statistics package.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB.
REW.ca welcomes your opinions and comments. We do not allow personal attacks, offensive language, unsubstantiated allegations or self-promotional content, including promotional website links. We reserve the right to unpublish comments, to edit them for length, style, legality and taste, and to reproduce them in print or online. For further information, please contact the editor or publisher, or see our Terms and Conditions.