While the second month of 2016 was the hottest February on record for real estate sales in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB), last month was an all-time record for any month.
With more than 100 homes selling just under the half-million-dollar mark, 270 single family houses overall, and a total of 494 homes sold worth nearly $190 million, March 2016 broke every record out there.
“We have never seen anything like this in the history of the Board,” Chilliwack and District Real Estate (CADREB) President Richard Admiraal said in a press release.
Of the 270 single family homes sold in March, 102 were in the $400,000 to $499,999 range, followed by 70 in the $300,000 to $349,999 category.
There were also 24 sales over the $700,000 mark, including four over $1 million.
“Year-over-year, this translates to an incredible 134 per cent increase in total dollar value, and a 93.7 per cent increase in total residential sales,” Admiraal said.
And while single family homes are hot sellers, there were 143 townhouses sold last month worth $41.7 million, an increase from 72 worth $18.6 million in March 2015.
Sales were up in nearly all categories of non-residential real estate as well, with a 100 per cent increase in dollar sales year over year.
There appears to be no single reason for the hot sales, but CADREB points to low interest rates, a strong B.C. economy and continued interest from buyers to the west as contributors to the sales in Chilliwack and the surrounding area.
With low supply, the sales are already, and will likely continue to, having an affect on price.
“As pricing is driven by supply and demand, this has pushed prices up 25 per cent,” Admiraal said. “All types of properties have dramatically increased in sales.”
While CADREB had a record month in March, so too did the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” FVREB president Charles Wiebe said.
“March was the highest selling month the REBGV has ever recorded,” REBGV president Dan Morrison said.
But while all areas saw record months, and March year-over-year increases, the percentage increase in sales in Chilliwack point to a migration east.
REBGV sales last month were 28 per cent higher than March 2015. For FVREB, the year-over-year increase was 67 per cent. But CADREB’s was 95 per cent.