Source: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board Down and up in the valley A decrease in sales and an increase in listings is adding up to a buyer’s market in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board region.

Generally flat prices and slower sales are tipping the Fraser Valley into a buyer’s market for real estate.

Sales dipped 11 per cent to 1,202 in October, comparable to the 1,122 homes processed through the Multiple Listing Service during the same month three years ago, the area’s real estate board reported Wednesday.

At the same time the valley has 7,335 active listings, 18 per cent more than October of last year.

Surrey realtor Kevin Anstey, of Royal LePage, said it was the sixth consecutive monthly decline in sales volumes.

“We have just dipped our big toe into a buyer’s market,” Anstey said. “That is apparent from the ratio between the number of listings and the number of sales.

“You are seeing more moderation in asking prices and a bigger spread between the selling prices and the asking prices.”

He gave the example of a 17-year-old, 31,000 square foot single family home in North Surrey which was listed in June for $389,900 and subsequently reduced to $379,900 and then to $369,900. After 107 days on the market, it sold in September for $357,500.

The board says the average price of a single-family home in October was $359,303, down slightly from $360,598 in September, while townhouse prices declined 1.4 per cent to an average $228,915. Apartments, averaging $146,485, were up 14 per cent compared to September.

While average prices remain steady, Anstey said that may well mean that buyers are getting more house for the same money.

“If buyers were going out to spend, say $400,000, they are now getting a bit bigger house than they would have. The average selling house can remain the same but still reflect an actual erosion in the value of the home, and I think we see a little more of that than the numbers would otherwise reflect.”

Prices also depend on the neighbourhood. Over the last month, the board’s Housing Price Index shows prices are up slightly in Langley, Surrey and the Greater White Rock area, and down slightly in North Delta and Mission. The index monitors the cost of a standard single family detached home while stripping out distortions to average prices caused by low volumes or a preponderance of high-end sales.

“The more desirable areas — Steveston, Ladner, White Rock-South Surrey — are very strong still,” Anstey said.

Average prices based solely on October sales are up 6.6 per cent in North Delta and 3.8 per cent in Abbotsford and down everywhere else — 9.7 per cent in Langley, 2.0 per cent in White Rock, 1.3 per cent in Mission, and 0.9 per cent in Surrey — for an over-all price decline of 0.4 per cent.

Noting Fraser Valley sales reached a record high in the spring, board president Moss Moloney said it is still “a great market” for buyer and seller.

“We may have passed the peak, but homes haven’t lost their values,” he said in a release. “Selection is increasing which means there are some excellent investment opportunities for buyers.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2004