As real estate sales finally slow in Metro Vancouver and in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board west of Chilliwack, local sales remain steady and prices continue to rise.
There were 361 sales in all categories in April in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) – which includes Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope and all places in between – at an average price of $533,020 up 16 per cent over the average sale price of $460,388 in April 2017.
Those prices continue to rise in the face of a predicted slow down in 2018. The B.C. Real Estate Association forecast the average sale price of a home in CADREB to hit just $498,000 for all of 2018.
• READ MORE: BCREA forecasts Chilliwack real estate to slow down for 2018, 2019
And while single family home sale numbers are dropping, demand for apartments and townhouses is on the rise.
“Last month, there were 71 sales of apartments, compared to 49 in the same month last year,” said new CADREB president Lori Maier. “The dollar value of total sales however is up over $21 million year-over-year, showing that prices locally are still on the increase.”
The average sale price of a single family home in CADREB’s region soared to $647,006 last month, up 19 per cent year over year.
Average townhouse sales hit $470,839, up 26.6 per cent over the same month in 2017, and the average apartment sold in April for $288,889, up 33.5 per cent year over year.
Maier said the surge in condo sales is likely the result of buyers looking to more affordable options in the wake of the new mortgage rules.
“The new rules incorporate a stress test, which means that anyone applying for a mortgage needs to not just qualify for the amount needed, but can withstand a hike in mortgage rates in the future.”
Of the 361 sales last month, the highest number (44) were in the $450,000 to $499,999 range, followed by 40 sales in the $500,000 to $549,999 range. There were 10 sales over the $1 million mark, including one over $2 million.
Notably, however, is that there were more than 100 sales under the $400,000 mark.
Listings continue to make a bit of a comeback from all time lows over the last year. There were 989 active listings, up 80 from April 2017.
“There is always room for more, as buyers from the metropolitan areas continue to look to the Eastern Fraser Valley for better home affordability,” according to a CADREB press release.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack real estate prices again hit new highs in March 2018
• RELATED: Growth in Lower Mainland home prices slows in April: report
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