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News Release

For Immediate Release: February 3, 2015

New Year kicks off with average activity for Fraser Valley real estate market


SURREY, BC – Fraser Valley’s real estate market improved in January compared to 2014 with sales and new listings reflecting levels close to seasonal norms. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 853 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®in January, an increase of 10 per cent compared to January 2014 and 21 per cent fewer then were processed in December. Sales in January ranked in the middle of the pack for the last ten years coming in 2 per cent under the 10-year average.

Ray Werger, President of the Board said, “We’re typically a little slower post-holdiay season and this year echoed that trend until about mid-month, when we noticed inquiries from interested buyers start to pick up at a number of our offices – including an increase in calls from first-timers.

“Can we attribute it to the interest rate drop? We can’t know what specifically motivated them to act, but we do know that stability generates confidence in the economy and confidence stimulates the housing market.”

The Board received 2,714 new listings in January, an increase of 1 per cent compared to January of last year and more than doubling the listings received in December 2014. From a historical perspective, January 2015’s new listings – similar to sales – finished 5 per cent above the 10-year average.

Werger explained, “It’s normal for us to see inventory start to climb at the beginning of the year in preparation for a busier spring market. What’s different this year is with sales as strong as they are for detached homes; particularly in the mid-price point, the shortage that we started to see late last year in certain areas isn't diminishing.”

Across Fraser Valley, the average number of days to sell a single family detached home in January 2015 ranged anywhere from 30 to 80 days depending on the community. “That’s a big difference. Ask your REALTOR® to show you the impact of supply and demand on prices and average days to sale in your neighbourhood,” added Werger.

The MLS® HPI benchmark* price of a Fraser Valley single family detached home in January was $571,700, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to January 2014 when it was $552,500. In January, the benchmark price of townhouses was $293,800, a decrease of 1.3 per cent compared to $297,600 in January 2014. The benchmark price of apartments also decreased year-over by 1.5%, going from $192,300 in January 2014 to $189,500 in January 2015.

*Note:

The national MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) underwent its annual review in January, 2015. This led to two changes:

1. Neighbourhoods where home sales over the past three years totaled 12 or less have been removed from the model. Neighbourhoods where sales have increased to 20 or more over the past three years have been added. Composite and aggregate historical MLS® HPI data now reflect these changes.

2. Benchmark property descriptions have been updated to reflect currenty buying trends. 

Background:

HBI Benchmark prices represent the value of a 'typical' property within a market. When the HPI was developed in 2011, a composite description was created for every neighborhood and property type based on MLS® sales data for that specific neighbourhood. What people typically purchase can change over time due to changes in affordability and buyer preferences. Therefore, it’s necessary for these descriptions to be periodically updated. The updated MLS® HPI methodology is available at:

http://homepriceindex.ca/hpi_resources_en.html.

Stats provided by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. For a full package visit: http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package%20201501.pdf

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