Brookswood-Fernridge State of the Market Report 2022

STATE OF THE MARKET in Brookswood-Fernridge

Since our last report, Brookswood has seen far more transaction activity than we could have anticipated. Considering the uncertainty in the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in development timelines due to the long-awaited neighbourhood plans, it was fair to assume that transactions would have slowed down further; however, that was not the case. If we look at the data for 2021, we see that the dollar volume of sales was up a staggering 173% compared to the previous year and the number of acres traded was up by 197% in the same period. With the release of the draft Neighbourhood Plans earlier this year, we can anticipate a steady increase in sales in the Booth, Fernridge, and Rinn neighbourhoods.

The prior state of development in Brookswood has created some misconceptions in the area. There were, and still are, select applications that are moving forward with construction, however these are legacy applications which were granted exemption from the new approval process. They do not necessarily reflect the same timelines or home types that a new application would receive. All new applications are still estimated to be 3-5 years away from approval as the area is awaiting new schools and additional servicing. The sub-neighbourhoods (Booth, Rinn and Fernridge) have also just completed the final phases of public engagement and will still need to be presented to Council for bylaw consideration; there is no date set for this yet. Considering these timelines, the supply of new homes in Brookswood will be limited for the foreseeable future.

BROOKSWOOD-FERNRIDGE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

The long-awaited draft neighbourhood plans were released in February for Booth, Rinn, and Fernridge. This news was welcomed by the development community as it has created a more definitive timeline to development. These neighbourhood plans must be completed prior to new development, but as we mentioned there is a collection of older development applications that were allowed to proceed prior. Over the course of the last 18 months, a number of these legacy applications continued construction so the applications highlighted below and in the adjacent “hot spot” map will have widely varied construction timelines.

HOT SPOT

15 significant* development applications for
residential development
992 units proposed over 105 acres
58% Townhouse
29% Single Family
13% Condos

BROOKSWOOD-FERNRIDGE NEIGHBOURHOOD UPDATES

Below you will find a summary of the distinguishing features of each neighbourhood as laid out in the draft plans, as well as an update on the current status of each neighbourhood. You can find out more about the neighbourhood planning process at www.tol.ca/bfnp

Booth

Booth continues to be planned as a hub for a variety of land uses in the draft plan and a potential hotspot for new affordable housing in the future. Four new development applications have been filed in this area over the course of the last year; three of these new applications are for townhomes and the other for a low-rise, wood frame condo. The sale price per acre has been reasonably stable over the last two years and is the highest of all the Brookswood’s sub neighborhoods.

Fernridge

The Fernridge draft plan contains a mix of uses similar to Booth, however, with far less density. Beyond the preservation of the green and natural spaces in the Fernridge neighbourhood, the majority of the land in the area is designated for single family, with small pockets of manufactured homes, and townhomes, plus a commercial node. Land values in this area have increased by 43% in the last year , averaging at $2M per acre* in the last twelve months.

Rinn

Of the three neighbourhoods that have their draft land use plans, Rinn is the furthest from development as the area is still facing challenges with servicing. This delayed timeline can be seen in the area’s land values which are the lowest of the three neighbourhoods at $2.2M per acre*. Despite the timeline to development, these values are still 30% higher than the previous twelve months.

Glenwood

No further update to the Glenwood neighbourhood as there is still no timeline to a neighbourhood concept plan.

*Average sale price per acre can vary depending on a number of factors including land use designation.

SOURCES

In creating this report, we consult the Township of Langley planning staff, survey multiple land transaction reporting systems (Commercial Edge, MLS) and analyze municipal development data to bring you the most relevant information. If you have any questions about this report or Langley’s development land market, don’t hesitate to reach out.

To receive future reports directly to your inbox, please sign up for our development land newsletter here.