Fraser Valley real estate sales dipped 2.5 per cent in September, the third consecutive monthly decline, the area’s real estate board reported Wednesday.

The 1,346 sales processed through the Multiple Listing Service were 35 fewer than August’s figures and 333 fewer than sales in September 2003, which represents a 19.8-per-cent decline.

Prices, however, remain consistently high, which the board has said indicates the market is “balancing.”

“[The decline] is relatively insignificant as far as I’m concerned,” said David Rishel, vice-president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

“And we still have a steady stream of listings coming in and we’re still well on target to set a [sales] record this year, even with those small declines.”

Rishel said the board doesn’t anticipate any changes other than a retreat to a “nice steady market.”

The average single-family-home price in September was $360,598, a 1.9-per-cent dip from August, but still up 18.2 per cent from September 2003.

Townhouses, however, at an average price of $232,117, are selling at prices 3.2 per cent higher than August and up 18.2 per cent from a year ago.

Tsur Somerville, director of the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at the University of B.C.‘s Sauder School of Business, said declining sales are a sign that a hot market is returning to normal, but also the first sign of a market decline, in which declining sales would be followed by falling prices.

He noted B.C. is experiencing employment and population growth, both which tend to support the real estate market.

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DOWN IN THE VALLEY

Fraser Valley MLS sales

September 2004: 1,346, down 2.5% from August, and a decrease of 19.8% from September 2003.

Average price of a single-family home in the Fraser Valley

September 2004: $360,598, down 1.9% from last month but up 18.2% from the same month last year.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004