SURREY, BC – After a sluggish first half of the year, property sales
in the Fraser Valley started picking up speed in the summer and
finished strong in December, but not enough to surpass last year’s
sales totals.
The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) processed
15,487 sales in 2019, a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to 2018’s
15,586 sales and the lowest total sales volume for the Fraser Valley
since 2013. The total dollar volume of MLS® transactions for the year
was $11.2 billion, dropping from $11.8 billion sold during the year
prior.
In 2019, total sales of the three main residential
property types – detached, townhome and apartment – was 13,773. Of
that total, 5,770 were detached, 3,888 were townhouses and 4,115 were
apartments. Year-over-year, sales of detached and townhomes increased
by 0.6 per cent compared to 2018, while apartment sales dropped by
4.2 per cent.
"Comparatively, 2019 was slower than normal for our region,”
said Darin Germyn, President of the Board. “Earlier in the year, we
were still feeling the impact of the stress test introduced in 2018,
but with steady job growth in our region and a stable economy, we’ve
seen sales in the last few months return to above-average
levels."
In December the Board processed a total of 1,247 sales, the third
best December since 2010. Active inventory finished at 4,686 units in
December, 20.3 per cent lower than the 10-year average for the month,
with a total of 948 new listings entering the market throughout the
month.
Germyn added, "Some sellers have been holding back on listing,
waiting until the market improves, with the result that supply in
many areas currently is quite tight; so if you’re looking to enter
the market in 2020, now is a good time. Without a healthy supply of
inventory in the coming months, we could see upward pressure on
prices."
A total of 30,568 new listings were received by the
Board’s MLS® system in 2019. This year was the second lowest for new
inventory for the Board in the last decade.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price Activity
- Single Family Detached: At $953,700, the
Benchmark price for a single-family
detached home in the Fraser Valley increased 0.2 per
cent compared to November 2019 and decreased 1.2 per cent
compared to December 2018.
- Townhomes: At $514,900, the Benchmark
price for a townhome
in the Fraser Valley in the Fraser Valley remained on par with
November 2019 and decreased 3.2 per cent compared to December
2018.
- Apartments: At $405,500, the
Benchmark price for apartments/condos
in the Fraser Valley increased 0.2 per cent compared to November
2019 and decreased 3.1 per cent compared to December 2018.
For the Fraser Valley region, the average number of
days to sell an apartment in December was 48, and 45 for townhomes.
Single family detached homes remained on the market for an average of
52 days before selling.
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