Derrick Penner
Sun
Fraser Valley real estate markets had enough inventory last month to give potential buyers more time to comparison shop, and sales figures show that they took it, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
In releasing statistics for January, the Fraser Valley board said 2,850 new listings hit the market in January, an 18-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago. That increased the region’s total inventory to 7,554 units, which is 24 per cent higher than January 2007.
Jim McCaughan, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, said between October and January, it took an average three days longer to sell a detached house. Apartments sat on the market five days longer and townhouses 14 days more.
Fraser Valley realtors booked 956 sales during January, four-per-cent fewer than the 1,001 recorded in January 2007.
“In the real estate industry a winter calm, or ‘re-stocking of our shelves’ often precedes our busiest season, which is spring,” McCaughan said in a press release.
January also saw some easing on prices. The month’s average single-family house price hit $524,293 during the month, which was six per cent higher than January a year ago, but almost three per cent less than the $538,273 average price of December.
Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said the Fraser Valley‘s January results are indicative of the moderation that forecasters expect to settle into B.C. markets.
“It’s hard to say that a market has peaked when it is actually still growing, in terms of prices, and sales are still high from a historical perspective,” Muir added.
Houses were the Fraser Valley‘s biggest sellers in January, according to statistics, with 475 selling during the month compared with 458 a year ago.
Sales of townhouses were lower in the area with 182 units changing hands in January versus 193 in the same month a year ago. The average townhouse price was $340,760, 12.6 per cent higher than the same month a year ago, but only 0.6-per-cent more than in December.
Condominium sales were also lower with 184 selling in the valley during January compared with 211 a year ago. January’s average condo price was $224,547, 12.3 per cent higher than the same month a year ago, but 1.8 per cent less than December’s average price.
