Summer Sales Soaring
SUMMER SALES SOARING IN THE FRASER VALLEY
| Fraser Valley Real Estate Board MLS® Report | August 3, 2005 |
(Surrey, BC) - The Fraser Valley housing market is seeing no sign of a traditional summer slowdown with both sales and new listings of residential homes soaring in July.
There were a total of 2,051 sales of homes and other properties through the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) last month, a decrease from the 2,517 sales in June but up over 32 per cent from the 1,553 sales in July of last year. Last month ranks as the highest sales recorded for July, compared only to 2003, which saw 1,915 sales.
"The confidence in the market right now is really entrenched. Interest rates are still near record lows, BC's job market is booming, there are new, innovative mortgage strategies - all of these strongly influence the real estate market," says Jake Siemens, the President of the FVREB.
The average price for single family homes in Fraser Valley in July was $401,107, an increase of 11.3 per cent compared to July 2004 when the average price was $360,488. Townhouses increased by 6.3 per cent, averaging $250,789 last month compared to $235,963 for July of last year. Apartments averaged $183,941, an increase of 33.5 per cent compared to the average price in July 2004 of $137,835.
Siemens says, "The good news for buyers is that not only have we seen an increase in the number of new properties coming onto the MLS®, we're seeing an increase in affordable homes in the price range of $250,000 - $350,000." In July, just over 300 detached homes in that range came on the market
The total number of properties of all kinds increased last month to 6,134 - an increase of 5 per cent from last month and a 12 per cent decrease from the 6,983 active listings in the same month a year ago.
Information and photos of all Fraser Valley Real Estate Board listings can be found on the national, public MLS® web site www.mls.ca. Using the services of a Realtor, who has detailed access to the private MLS® database, is the most effective way to purchase your new home.
Further market statistics can be found on the Board’s web page at www.fvreb.bc.ca. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,380 real estate professionals who live and work in the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission.
Contact: Laurie Dawson, Communications Coordinator
Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
15463 104 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3T 4W4
Tel: 604.930.7600 Fax: 604.930.7623 email: laurie.dawson@fvreb.bc.ca