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Supply increase for 3rd month straight, property sales remain strong in March: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board

New listings increased 22%, inventory increased 24% from February
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It took an average 12 days to sell a single-family detached home with the FVREB in March, 14 days for a townhome, and 11 days for an apartment. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

The number of new property listings with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board has increased for the third month in a row, according to their March report, bringing inventory back up where it was last July, when they announced the “worst supply shortage in 40 years.”

FVREB made 2,580 residential and commercial sales in March, a 26 per cent decrease from 2021’s numbers, but a 41 per cent increase from February sales.

“Sales were strong again in March as more new listings continued to come on stream. We’re hopeful this will contribute to a slowing in price growth, which is good news for the home-buying public,” said Sandra Benz, FVREB’s president.

“Other encouraging signs, such as less open house traffic and fewer multiple offers, may help us get to a more balanced market, however until the fundamental issue of lack of supply is addressed, we won’t see that happen anytime soon.”

A total of 4,580 new listings were made in March, a 10 per cent decrease from March of last year, but 22 per cent more than February. Inventory sat at 4,699 at the end of last month, a decrease of 6 per cent from last year, but 24 per cent higher than February.

“We may not see the impact of recent interest rate hikes on the market trends until later in 2022. With fixed rates nearly double what they were a year ago, new homebuyers will likely be more impacted than other segments of the home-buying public, as mortgage stress test conditions become more stringent,” said Baldev Gill, FVREB.

It took an average 12 days to sell a single-family detached home with the FVREB in March, 14 days for a townhome, and 11 days for an apartment.

Benchmarks:

  • Single Family Detached: At $1,726,900, the Benchmark price for an FVREB single-family detached home increased 3.4 per cent compared to February 2022 and increased 39.5 per cent compared to March 2021.
  • Townhomes: At $886,400, the Benchmark price for an FVREB townhome increased 5.4 per cent compared to February 2022 and increased 41.9 per cent compared to March 2021.
  • Apartments: At $643,000, the Benchmark price for an FVREB apartment/condo increased 4.6 per cent compared to February 2022 and increased 38.2 per cent compared to March 2021.

RELATED: Home sales slow for July, lowest supply in 40 years, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board says