The first month of 2020 was solid for real estate sales in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) area, and was called “an exciting time for the real estate industry and for Chilliwack,” by CADREB’s newly elected President.
“I am super excited to represent CADREB as president for 2020,” said Kim Parley, who will be officially installed at the Board’s AGM later this month.
While sales in January 2020 dropped from December, the 166 residential homes sold in all categories surpassed the 98 sold in January 2019, and was also above the 10-year average of 141.
Of those 166, as usual, the highest number of sales was in the single-family home category at 79. But at less than half of all homes sold, that is a lower rate than usual. There were 40 townhouses sold and 32 apartments.
Much of what was purchased was at the higher end. The average overall sale price of a home sold last month was $544,764, up slightly from $533,080 year-over-year.
As for single family homes, the average price sold was $645,209 up from $604,633.
Those numbers do not include the house-and-acreage category in which nine were sold for an average price of $1.29 million. Just two houses with acreage were sold in January 2019, although those were sold for an average of $2.4 million.
When houses with acreage are added to the single family homes, the average price of a house sold in Chilliwack last month was $710,864 up from $669,919 year over year.
The 40 townhouses sold last month went for an average price of $423,540 up slightly from $427,243 year-over-year, and the average apartment sold for $286,978 up from $271,273.
Twelve residential property sold over the $1 million-dollar mark.
While other areas of B.C. are experiencing drops in pricing, not so in Chilliwack and area, particularly in single family housing.
“Low housing inventory is keeping prices up locally,” Parley said. “More listings are needed to create more competition. We have increasing demand from buyers moving into our area as housing is more affordable than the metro areas, so it’s a great time to list a property.”
Indeed there were just 987 listings at the end of January 2020 compared to 1,132 a year ago, itself a low number.
The new CADREB president is a long-time resident of the Fraser Valley and. he replaces outgoing president Kyle Nason.
“The natural beauty of this area never ceases to amaze me,” Parley said in a press release issued Wednesday. “I’m proud to be working for such a great Board, in a profession that cares so much for its communities.”
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: paul.henderson@theprogress.com
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
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.
