As B.C.’s overall real estate market starts a descent back into reality with a return to an “historic average” for sales numbers and prices, the small Chilliwack market shows no sign of cooling.
The average price of a home sold across the province in January was $621,093, a 17.5 per cent decline over the $752,906 in January 2016.
Those numbers are mostly impacted by the huge Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, which accounted for 35 per cent of all B.C. sales last month. (That itself was down from 44 per cent in January 2016.)
In Vancouver, sales were down 39.7 per cent last month and in the next door Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), which covers Abbotsford to Surrey, they were down 27.9 per cent.
In the small Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, sales were up 2.2 per cent year over year.
But it’s with prices where the real differences lie. In Chilliwack, the average sale price last was $432,043 in January 2017 up 38.3 per cent from $312,421. Still a relative bargain in the Lower Mainland.
The average price in the FVREB area was $631,852 down 5.5 per cent from 2016. And in Vancouver, the average sale price of $878,242 was down 18.9 per cent from $1,083,178 in 2016.
The next biggest year-over-year jump in prices of the 12 real estate boards was Powell River at 16.4 per cent.
Chilliwack’s prices and sales seem to be catching up to the higher numbers to the west, with few indicators sales numbers or prices will drop any time soon.
“Housing demand across the province returned to long-term average levels last month,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist for the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).
“However, regional variations persist, with Victoria posting above average performance and Vancouver falling below the average.”
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
@PeeJayAitch
