Joannah Connolly
REW
There were 1,937 real estate sales in the Fraser Valley in July this year – of all property types including commercial and industrial – according to Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) figures published August 2.
That is 1.3% lower than July last year and 24.7% down from June’s property sales, reported the board.
However, 1,744 of those July sales were residential properties, a figure that is higher – albeit by just one single unit – than the 1,743 Fraser Valley home sales recorded in July 2016 and the second-busiest July for home sales seen in the past seven years
The price of a typical Fraser Valley home (all types combined) is now $730,300, which is 14.8% higher than in July last year and an eyebrow-raising 3.8% increase in a single month, compared with June’s $703,900.
Gopal Sahota, FVREB president, said, “Even though activity has eased off for the summer, we’re continuing to see the same trends we’ve seen all year. Namely, strong demand for attached-style homes and slight but steady increases in pricing.”
New home listings in the Valley were 3.3% higher than one year ago, at 2,864 units, but that’s 8.5% fewer than were listed in June.
With home sales slower in July compared with the previous month, the number of available units for sale rose 12.2% month over month to 4,145 homes, which is 1.2% higher than July last year.
Home Type Breakdown
Of the 1,744 Fraser Valley home sales in July, 753 were detached houses, which is 28.4% down from June’s 1,052 sales. This was the only property type to see a year-over-year decline in sales, down 9.1% from July last year.
The 447 attached home sales (townhouses etc, but not condos) represented a 3% lift year over year but a decline of 22% compared with June’s transactions.
A total of 544 condos exchanged hands in the Fraser Valley in July, which is 20.4% below the previous month’s record-breaking numbers but a whopping 13% higher than July 2016.
The hot condo sales seen in July meant that total active condo listings as of the end of the month were nearly 11% lower than one year previously, at 726 units. However, because of the even-hotter condo market in June this year, that total was 14% more than June’s paltry 637 available condos.
Both townhomes and detached houses saw month-over-month and year-over-year increases in the number of available homes for sale as of the end of July.
Benchmark Prices by Property Type
Benchmark prices show no sign of slowing down in the Fraser Valley market, with the price of a typical Fraser Valley home (all types combined) now at $730,300, 14.8% higher than in July last year and up 3.8% since June.
That increase is largely driven by yet another leap in local condo prices, for which the benchmark is now set at $341,100. Although this is relatively affordable compared with Vancouver prices, it is 33.3% higher than the same month a year previously, and a leap of 4.9% in a single month.
Townhomes and other attached units saw the next-steepest price increases, with the benchmark price of $485,900 a rise of 18.1% year over year and 4% month over month.
Detached homes, although rising in price the slowest, still saw a benchmark price increase of 10% compared with July 2016 and 3.4% since June this year.
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