While home prices in Metro Vancouver remain sky-high, the price for single-family detached homes in two of the region’s fastest-growing markets have seen a significant dip recently, according to one industry group.
HouseSigma uses AI to compare historical listings and estimate current values in real-time. Its latest data compared prices from February and May of 2022.
In Surrey, the average price dropped from $1.9 million to $1.59 million – a decrease of 16.3 per cent. In Langley, the price dropped from $1.75 million to $1.5 million – a decrease of 14.3 per cent.
While higher interest rates are said to be cooling the market in B.C. and beyond, HouseSigma agent Hao Li says there is likely something else at play in these two places. As people flocked outside of the city looking for cheaper housing, the population boom drove up prices. Now, Li says the demand has eased.
“One of the reasons that it is going downward even more is because it’s been rising much quicker in those two cities compared to other cities of Greater Vancouver for the past two years,” he says.
“We can forecast that the price and the sales volume will drop initially. But as time goes on, will get more stabilized.”
In markets and moments like this one, Li says, negotiation becomes something both buyers and sellers begin to focus on.
While Surrey and Langley showed the only double-digit drops, the average price for a single-detached home was down everywhere except for Richmond and West Vancouver.
The latest data from the British Columbia Real Estate Association says the sharp increase in mortgage rates is pushing the province’s home sales down “a path to normalizing,” although it estimates a balanced market is at least a year away.
According to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, April of 2022 marked the first time sales in the region dropped below the 10-year average,
“We would typically see a flurry of activity around this time of the year,” said FVREB president Sandra Benz in a statement.
“However, that’s not been the case so far. While it’s still too early to say whether this trend will endure, the slowing of sales combined with an increase in active listings is helping to restore a semblance of balance to the market, which is encouraging for homebuyers.”
The board also said the increase in mortgage rates is likely driving down demand but “low inventory” means prices are not likely to see a substantial drop.
The average amount of time a property stayed in the market last month in the Fraser Valley was 16 days for a detached home and 13 days for a townhome or apartment.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
