Housing sales for our region continued to slow in September following this year’s busy summer, and very busy spring. In fact, it was slow enough that, for the first time this year, we had a month that did not exceed the ten year average for that month historically.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,305 sales of all property types on the MLS® in September, a decrease of 24.4 per cent compared to the 1,727 sales in September of last year, and a 23 per cent decrease compared to the 1,694 sales in August 2016.
The total active inventory for our region, however, was was at its highest level since October 2015. Despite receiving the lowest amount of new listings for the region in seven months, the total active inventory for the Fraser Valley was 6,422 listings last month, increasing by 5.2 per cent month-over-month. The Board received 2,709 new listings in September, a 4.6 per cent decrease from August 2016, and a 9.2 per cent increase compared to September 2015’s 2,481 new listings.
“What we’re experiencing is an environment where the summer sizzle has ceased, and demand is producing numbers in-line with what we’ve seen historically. It seems dramatic, as would anything else that wasn’t the incredible, continuous uptick we’ve seen for the last eighteen months,” said Charles Wiebe, Board President.
The MLS® HPI benchmark price of a Fraser Valley single family detached home in September was $878,100, an increase of 37.3 per cent compared to September 2015 when it was $639,500.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhomes in September was set at $419,300, an increase of 35.7 per cent compared to September 2015’s benchmark price of $308,900. Similarly, the benchmark price for an apartment in the Fraser Valley increased 26.6 per cent year-over-year, from $197,500 in September 2015 to $250,000 in September of this year.
Other notable statistics from September:
- The average number of days to sell a single family detached home in the Fraser Valley was 27 days, a more typical number for our region when compared to how fast homes were selling earlier in the year. For townhomes, the average number of days to sale was 17, and for apartments it was 25.
- As President Charles Wiebe notes in the press release for September’s numbers, our sales to active listings ratio has moved to 20 per cent, which indicates the market is closer to a more normalized, balanced state.
- While prices haven’t dropped significantly, the upwards trajectory they’ve been on since February has slowed down dramatically. Both benchmark prices and average prices for the month moved only slightly, and in many communities decreased slightly.
To view the full stats package for September, click here. Further graphs, reports, and analysis can be found on REALTOR® Link.