The market's relatively modest January activity might herald an easing of supply-demand pressures
The Fraser Valley saw its housing market “rebalance” in January after its busiest year ever, according to the region’s real estate professionals’ association.
The market saw a total of 1,310 home sales in January 2022, the third highest level ever for the month despite an annual decrease of 23.7%, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said.
During the same period, the market saw 2,135 new listings, up by 67.1% from December 2021 despite a 23.3% year-over-year drop. Total active listings stood at 2,332 units, up by 19.2% monthly and down by 44.6% annually.
“In January, realtors saw the return of home sellers. Yes, sales in our region remain elevated, but a positive, early trend for 2022 is we experienced a significant increase in requests from sellers to list,” said Larry Anderson, president of the FVREB.
Read more: BC market registers record-breaking sales activity
“It’s early days yet, but if this trend continues into spring, we could see an easing of the supply-demand dynamic in our region,” Anderson added. “We have a long way to go to replenish our housing stock and bring much-needed balance to the market, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Benchmark prices were at around $1.569 million for single-family homes (up by 41.8% annually), at $796,500 for townhomes (up by 37.2%), and at $574,300 for apartments (up by 30.6%).
“This protracted pandemic market has resulted in considerable upward pressure on home prices,” said Baldev Gill, CEO of the FVREB. “We anticipate the seasonal influx of new inventory, such as we’re already seeing, could provide a welcome, albeit far from fully adequate, easing of price growth moving into 2022.”
