October 2021 – Fraser Valley Real Estate Market Snapshot

Market Intelligence, Real Estate News | November 8, 2021

October’s Real Estate Statistics show that we are still in a seller’s market still, with sales numbers up or slightly down based on the reduction of Inventory Levels.

The total available inventory numbers in each product type are down compared with the month before and down even further when compared to the year prior. In addition to this sales numbers are up or down based on available inventory during the same time frame, but mostly up showing the high demand and continued short supply for the Fraser Valley real estate market. In addition to this, the average sales price for each product type (single-family, townhome and condominium) are all up compared to the month prior and significantly up compared to the same period in the year prior. This means we are still in a seller’s market and deals will be hard to find if found at all.

This month our provincial government announced its intentions to legislate a ‘cooling off’ period for resale, similar to what is already in place for new home purchases. In addition to commenting on possibly changing the rules or ability to have closed bidding in multiple offer situations. They have not yet conferred with any industry stakeholders or experts on this, however, have publicly announced it. Hopefully, they take a good look at New Zealand, for 2 reasons. First off New Zealand banned closed bidding in the hope to help cool the market, however, this proved to have the exact opposite effect allowing bidders to see the other bids and outbid each other easier pushing prices up. This is due to the root problem being supply, not how many are bidding. Secondly, New Zealand just implemented a new rule where municipal approval is no longer required to develop and build certain sized structures, this is to help increase supply, which is slowed in the municipal process. We have the same issue here with some cities and municipalities taking over a year to approve developments that would add supply even if conform and fit into their official community plans. It is our hope that our government will start something to tackle this root issue for any area that is in high demand. Maybe not the same as New Zealand has done, but perhaps time limits that all municipalities and cities need to meet or pay a Provincial or even Federal fine if don’t. For example, if an application meets the OCP and NCP criteria should be approved within a matter of months, not a year or longer, with a longer period of saying a year for more complex applications that are outside the OCP and NCP parameters. This would help more supply come on to the market at a quicker and more reasonable pace and help slow price inflation or even help create a more balanced market for all.

As previously mentioned, since mid-2020 it has become very clear that the local real estate market increases were not due to foreign ownership in any capacity, perhaps it never really was, to begin with, or maybe it was simply a great headline for political posturing in British Columbia. Now almost 2 years later the market is right back and now beyond its typical performance, proving that Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are desirable places to live and in-demand areas for Canadian homebuyers. Immigration is about to re-open and if we do not fix our supply issue prices will only inflate further as shown in basic economics. With our limited land and opportunity to build and extremely slow municipal approval rates, home prices here will remain a contentious issue and across the industry as they continue to rise due to an obvious lack of supply that is still quickly diminishing.

The Fraser Valley is a beautiful and convenient place to live and work, thus will continue to be sought after in the long run. For those looking at a great place to start your new home search, low-rise condominium and entry-level townhome developments in the Fraser Valley are a great investment opportunity with room for appreciation.

Purchasing into a new development when they are first released for sale means there are no mortgage payments to make until completion. This gives homeowners and investors alike plenty of time to find a renter for the space or make the decision to move in themselves. Typically, two years from the time construction commences to completion, and construction usually starts three to six months after pre-sales have started. This helps ensure that equity will most likely have been gained before completion helping expedite gains with no monthly payments for up to two and a half years from the time of the initial down payment.