in August, an increase of 35 per cent compared to the 997 sales during the same month last year and slightly higher than the 1,322 sales in July.
Sukh Sidhu, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, says, “We typically see a summer dip
in sales in August compared to July and that didn’t happen this year. We attribute the current steady
market to interest rates remaining favourable, as well as buyers taking advantage of home prices
softening slightly in certain markets and an influx of new inventory across all property types.”
The board posted 2,644 new properties on its MLS® in August, an increase of 26 per cent
compared to August of last year and 10 per cent fewer than it received in July. The number of active
listings in the Fraser Valley remained at 10,074 in August, on par with July’s volume.
“The number of homes on the market remains at a yearly high, which combined with a decrease in
sales, can put downward pressure on pricing. We’re only seeing this in some communities for
certain property types underlining the importance for both sellers and buyers to obtain local real
estate expertise.
“Year over year, home prices in the Fraser Valley are either on par or showing increases; month
over month, benchmark prices for the three main residential property types combined declined by
1.3 per cent.”
The benchmark price of a single family detached house in the Fraser Valley in August was
$528,959, an increase of 3.7 per cent compared to $510,107 in August 2010.
For townhouses, the benchmark price in August was $327,317, an increase of 0.9 per cent
compared to $324,485 during the same month last year. The benchmark price of apartments in
Fraser Valley in August was $245,751, an increase of 2.5 per cent compared to $239,659 in August
2010.
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