Balanced market conditions in the Fraser Valley
SURREY, BC – The growth in sales on Fraser Valley’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) outpaced the growth in new
inventory in April, propelling the market into solid balanced conditions.
In April, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s total sales volume increased by 8 per cent year over year and 17 per
cent compared to March while new listings saw a 7 per cent increase compared to April 2013 and a 13 per cent
increase compared to the previous month.
Ray Werger, president of the Board, 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.
“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.”
Werger adds that demand for apartments in the Fraser Valley remained softer. “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.”
In April, the benchmark price of single family detached homes in the Fraser Valley was $566,000, an increase of 3.4 per cent compared to $547,300 during the same month last year. For townhouses, the benchmark price was
$298,700, virtually unchanged compared to $299,100 in April 2013 and the benchmark price of apartments was
$196,300, a decrease of 3.7 per cent compared to $203,900 in April of last year.
In April, the Board processed a total of 1,470 sales through its MLS® compared to 1,366 sales in April 2013 and
1,259 sales in March; and, received 3,153 new listings last month compared to 2,951 new listings received during
April 2013. The number of active listings reached 9,400, 7 per cent more than were available in March however 6
per cent fewer than were available during April of last year.
In April, the number of days on average to sell a detached home in the Fraser Valley was 43; 47 for townhomes;
and, 59 days on average for an apartment. All, four days faster than they were in April 2013.
To read more: http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package%20201404.pdf