Fraser Valley Residential Real Estate: April 2019 Infographic

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s stats are out for April and while it may not be the thrilling Spring market we’ve seen the last few years, sales are up for all home types, inventory remains at historically average levels, benchmark prices continue to rise and buyer appetite persists.

For the third month in a row, HPI Benchmark prices climbed for all residential home types. Compared to March, the price of a detached home increased 0.2%, the price of a condo increased 0.6% and the price of a townhouse increased 0.9%. Outperforming the blended Fraser Valley averages were townhomes in Langley (up 1%) and condos in South Surrey (up 1.2%).

As we push further into the spring market, sales of all home types continue to climb. April’s townhouse sales increased 26% month-over-month while detached home and condo sales increased moderately with a 6% and 8% rise, respectively.

As expected for this time of year, inventory levels (active listings) also continued to increase month-over-month between 9% and 17%, depending on home type. Even with these increases, total inventory for the Fraser Valley remains at only 94% of the 10 year average for the month of April.

Hidden in this month’s stats are signs of equilibrium in the Fraser Valley market. For example:

• The rate of month-over-month benchmark price increases is slowing for some home types. Prices are climbing, but at a milder pace.
• Sale price as a percent of list price was flat last month for both detached homes and condos, when spring typically brings increases, and is also slightly below the 10 year average. This flattening could just be that sellers’ price expectations have come down to match market value or it could be that buyer demand has equalized.
• The magnitude of month-over-month decreases in average days on market, is declining.

What does this mean for development land in the Fraser Valley? The development land buyer confidence I mentioned last month continues to grow as healthy market statistics are reported each month. Consequently, competition for well-located, readily developable land is once again quite high. Townhouse land in particular is at the top of the list for many Fraser Valley builders as it’s a long-standing staple in the Fraser Valley which is a more affordable home type but carries less risk than building condos.

With that said, buyers remain conservative given the uncertain political climates in some municipalities and the generally sluggish pace of permit approvals. These factors have gone as far as compelling some developers, who were recently entertaining offers, to pull their sites from the market as they recognize how difficult it would be to replace the land.

Check out our curated summary of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s April stats in infographics below.

View the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s entire stats package for April 2019 here.

This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy.