The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,818 property sales in March, an increase of 16 per cent compared to 1,565 sold during March of last year, and an increase of 42 per cent compared to February’s 1,279 sales. In March of 2006, there were 2,072 sales.
In terms of sales on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS), the numbers mean that Valley realtors had their busiest March since 2006.
Board president Sukh Sidhu said that “We are seeing strong demand in Fraser Valley but not necessarily for every product type in every community.”
He noted that sales of single family detached homes in White Rock/South Surrey increased by more than 150 per cent in March compared to last year. However, in Abbotsford sales were down by almost seven per cent.
The property type that saw the largest increase in sales in Abbotsford during the month of March was condominiums.
Sidhu added that in addition to sales volumes, the number of new properties being listed for sale increased by 11 per cent, going from 3,038 new listings in February to 3,376 in March. This gave buyers more choice during one of the most popular times of the year to house hunt.
March finished with six per cent more active listings on the MLS than in February — 9,228 compared to 8,680 — but still six per cent fewer compared to the 9,828 listings that were active during March, 2010.
Regarding prices, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes in March was $519,628, an increase of 0.9 per cent from the price of $514,787 one year ago.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in March remained on par year-over-year going from $326,307 in 2010 to $327,328 in 2011.
The benchmark price of apartments was $249,463 in March, a 1.1 per cent increase over the $246,673 cost in March, 2010.
