The real estate in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows continued as hot through the first month of 2021 as it did at the end of last year.
There were 95 single family homes sold in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows last month, which marked it one of the most attractive markets of the cities in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). Those 95 houses sold for a median price of $1.05 million.
By comparison, there were 67 houses sold for a median price of $850,000 in January of 2020.
“The secret is out about Maple Ridge,” said Cass MacLeod, a realtor of 10 years and former director with the real estate board. “We live in one of the most beautiful areas of the Lower Mainland.”
The Royal LePage realtor sees a market as busy as it ever has been in the past decade. He said home buyers are initially attracted here by lower prices. That $1.05 million benchmark price for a house in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows compares favourably to the Lower Mainland benchmark of almost $1.4 million for the entire Lower Mainland.
Once they are here, buyers are impressed by the natural beauty of lakes, rivers, mountains, with a great system of parks and trails.
“I love Maple Ridge, and so do the people who live here, and so do people who are coming here,” said MacLeod.
The entire region remains a hot real estate market. The REBGV reports residential home sales in the region totalled 2,389 in January 2021, a 52.1 per cent increase from the 1,571 sales recorded in January 2020. Last month’s sales were 36.4 per cent above the 10-year January sales average.
“With home sale activity well above our January average, the supply of homes for sale isn’t able to keep pace,” Colette Gerber, REBGV chair, said. “This is causing increased competition amongst home buyers and upward pressure on prices.”
That’s despite COVID-19.
“Shifting housing needs during the pandemic and historically low interest rates have been key drivers of demand in our market over the last six months,” Gerber said. “People who managed to enter the market a few years ago, and have seen their home values increase, are now looking to move up in the market to accommodate their changing needs.”
There were 49 apartment sales in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows last month, for the same median price of $400,000 as January 2020. Also, 68 townhouses sold for a median price of $640,000, compared with $529,000, the median price for 32 townhouses in January 2020. The benchmark prices for Lower Mainland townhouses in January 2021 was $712,000, and apartments $655,000.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
