The central bank's interest rate rises have dominated market dynamics over the past half year or so
Continued slowing sales and a slight rise in inventory in September combined to bring greater stability to the Fraser Valley housing market, according to the region’s real estate industry association.
Data from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board showed that a total of 897 sales took place across the market last month, representing decreases of 11.8% from August and 51.9% from September 2021.
A total of 2,273 new listings entered the market in September, up by 11.1% on a monthly basis and down by 2.9% annually. Active inventory stood at 5,805 units, down by 1.1% from August but up by 52.3% from September 2021. These pushed the overall sales-to-active ratio to a balanced 15%.
The Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes have dominated market dynamics over the past half year or so – a trend that might also persist in the near future, said FVREB president Sandra Benz.
Read more: Canada home prices – how far could they fall next year?
“The sales slowdown we’re seeing reflects a level of caution exercised by buyers, who are likely waiting for the market to settle further before jumping in,” Benz said. “In the meantime, we anticipate prices may continue to decline across all categories.”
Benchmark prices stood at $1.462 million for single-family detached housing (down by 3.4% monthly and up by 4.1% annually), at $822,400 for townhomes (down by 2.3% monthly and up by 11.6% annually), and at $530,400 for apartments (down by 2.1% monthly and up by 14.5% annually).
