While outdoor temperatures have been scorching hot, the local real estate market is finally cooling off.
A total of 306 homes sold in July according to the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB), down 12 per cent from July 2020, when 353 sales were reported. That’s the first year-to-year drop reported in 2021.
“With higher COVID vaccination rates and the lifting of provincial and national travel restrictions, combined with the sunniest summer in recent history, many families put home shopping on hold and hit the road,” said CADREB president Andrew Verschuur.
Despite the long-expected slowdown, home values remain strong.
CADREB reported 157 single family homes selling in July for an average of $870,00, up from $829,000 in June.
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Seventy one townhouses sold in July for an average of $554,000, down slightly from $571,000 in June, while 56 apartments sold in July for an average of $367,000, up from $342,000 in June.
The most popular price brackets, with 24 sales each, were $550,000-to-$600,000 and $750,000-to-$800,000.
Forty five properties went for more than $1-million and five went for more more than $2-million.
Verschuur said you won’t likely see falling prices later this summer. Inventory continues to be low, and while the bidding wars of a few months ago are no longer common, prices are expected to remain at current levels or higher.
The July median sales price is $670,000, up over 25 per cent from July 2020.
“Looking beyond the summer when the housing market typically picks up, with continued low interest rates and strong interest in people from the metro area moving to the Eastern Fraser Valley, a busy fall market is expected,” Verschuur noted.
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With the village of Lytton located within the CADREB boundaries, local Realtors rallied to help those whose homes were destroyed by the wildfire.
They participated in food and clothing drives and helped financially through the CADREB Realtors Care program.
“Our members were given the opportunity to take the money that they would have paid in dues to the real estate board in August and donate it in support of those affected by the wildfires,” Verschuur said. “The CADREB donations, with matching funds from both the federal and provincial governments, should total $111,000 that will go to help our neighbours.”
