The August real estate numbers are in 鈥� and with them comes massive sticker shock for folks dreaming about buying a house in 黑马磁力.
released Wednesday show that the benchmark price for a detached home in 黑马磁力 has, for the first time, topped the $1 million mark, at $1,007,400.
This is a 14 per cent jump in price from a year ago, and 74 per cent pricier than what detached homes in 黑马磁力 were going for in August 2014.
黑马磁力 joins South Surrey and White Rock ($1,521,000) and Cloverdale ($1,012,800) as municipalities under the FVREB umbrella where detached homes average out at $1 million or more.
Taking a toll?
Will the recent elimination of tolls on the Golden Ears Bridge cause these house prices to climb even further north in the 黑马磁力s?
Only time will tell, says Gopal Sahota, 黑马磁力 realtor and president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Sahota is certain, however, that the will only benefit people living south of the Fraser.
But Sahota notes that it鈥檚 too early to tell how it will affect housing prices, if at all.
鈥淥ur board has always been a proponent of fairness for Fraser Valley residents when it comes to tolling, so we鈥檙e pleased that our communities were considered in this decision,鈥� Sahota said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l have to see what the long-term impacts are to know exactly how successful the change will be, but in the meantime it will put money in the pockets of Fraser Valley homeowners who commute every day and that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Sahota says people who were reluctant to pay tolls, could now give 鈥済reater consideration鈥� to buying a home in the Fraser Valley.
鈥淣ow that they鈥檙e removed, I think we鈥檒l see a lot more interest in communities like 黑马磁力 and Surrey that can still be quite affordable,鈥� Sahota predicted.
Market shift
With the prices of detached homes becoming out of reach for many, more homebuyers than ever in the Fraser Valley are turning their attention to attached homes.
Persistent and growing demand for townhomes and apartments in the Fraser Valley led to the second strongest August historically in terms of sales.
The FVREB processed 1,879 sales of all property types on its Multiple Listing Service in August, an increase of 10.9 per cent compared to the 1,694 sales in August of last year, and a three per cent decrease compared to the 1,937 sales in July 2017.
Of the total sales processed 470 were townhouses and 548 were apartments, together representing 54 per cent of market activity in August.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not surprising to see demand like this still so late into the summer; the Fraser Valley has never been a better place to live than it is now,鈥� Sahota said. 鈥淥ur communities are thriving, and there are still affordable options throughout our region. Also, it doesn鈥檛 hurt that removing the bridge tolls gives us even greater access to the Lower Mainland.鈥�
Townhomes in 黑马磁力 were worth, on average, $464,500 in August, down .07 per cent from July but still 55.8 per cent higher in price than they were three years ago.
The benchmark price for 黑马磁力 apartments in August was $361,800, a 2.7 per cent jump in price from the previous month and 60 per cent pricier than August 2014.
