Unrelenting demand for single family homes in Chilliwack has led to a 22 per cent increase in prices year over year and a 58 per cent increase in just two years.
And at $584,167, the sale price of a single family home in August 2017 was up 87 per cent over the average sale price of $312,792 back in 2010, according to the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB)
The average in 2015 was $370,657 and in 2016 it was $479,252.
That compares to an average townhouse sale price increase of 24 per cent from $338,379 in August 2016 to $418,176 August 2017.
Condo apartment sales were slow but increasing with just 65 sold up from 49 in 2016. Average sale price of an apartment was $228,471 last month up 23 per cent year-over-year.
Overall there were 351 sales in August in the CADREB area worth $167.6 million for an average sale price of $477,515. That’s up 20 per cent from the 380 sales worth $150.8 million in August 2016 for an average of $396,958.
The price increases are evident across the Lower Mainland, something the B.C. Real Estate Association says is due to a lack of supply.
“British Columbia’s position as the best performing economy in the country is bolstering consumer confidence and housing demand,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA’s chief economist. “Strong employment growth, a marked increase in migrants from other provinces, and the aging of the millennial generation is supporting a heightened level of housing transactions. However, a limited supply of homes for sale is causing home prices to rise significantly in many regions, particularly in the Lower Mainland condominium market.”
While the prices may give sticker shock to Chilliwack buyers, further west they’re through the roof.
In August, houses in Langley topped the $1 million mark putting that community in the likes of South Surrey and White Rock ($1.5 million) and Cloverdale ($1 million).
BCREA forecasts the average Multiple Listing Service (MLS) residential price in B.C. to increase 3.5 per cent to $715,000 this year, and a further 4.1 per cent to nearly $745,000 in 2018.
For the relatively small CADREB region, BCREA forecasts the average price for the year for all residential properties to be $458,000, a 15.1 per cent increase over $397,911 in 2016. The forecast is for a more modest 5.2 per cent increase to $482,000 in 2018, but given the average sale price of $477,515 last month, that forecast may be low.
In 2016, there were 4,306 unit sales in CADREB up 37.2 per cent over the year before. BCREA forecasts sales to drop 14.5 per cent to 3,680 for all of 2017, which is at least in part due to the continued shortage in supply, something that is forcing prices up.
The BCREA forecast for 2018 is a further 6.3 per cent drop to 3,450 sales for the year.
Sales over the first eight months in Chilliwack are down 14.8 per cent from the same period last year, but as CADREB president Greg Nord-Leth points out, that rate of sales stood higher than the same period of every other year on record.
“The local housing market story in 2017 continues to be one of very strong sales and price growth, just not quite as strong as last year,” Greg Nord-Leth said. “Meanwhile, there has been no relief on the supply side compared to a year ago.”
He added that new home construction permits are lagging behind the 2006-2008 permit levels, just prior to the recession.
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paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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