More homes are being put up for sale, and more of them are finding buyers, in Langley, according to data from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).
Across the Fraser Valley, sales were up significantly from January, but still 21 per cent below the 10-year average, according to the association’s numbers. New listings were up, about four per cent above the average.
“We are seeing new listings come onto the market and realtors continue to see more traffic at open houses, however buyers are still exercising caution,” said Narinder Bains, chair of the FVREB. “We aren’t out of the woods just yet, but the signs are pointing to a further increase in activity as we head into spring.”
Langley-area realtor Corbin Chivers of Stonehaus Realty said things are moving a bit after a very slow last half of 2023.
“We had seven months of straight declines last year,” Chivers said of prices in the area.
There was quite a substantial shift over February, with prices and listings up, and even some bidding wars as multiple offers came back for some homes.
But compared to long-term trends, the month was still quite average, said Chivers.
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He pointed to some looming issues that might impact the market, including the fact that most economists are still expecting interest rate cuts this year – but fewer of them. That means mortgages rates may come down, but not as much as was anticipated.
There are also thousands of homebuyers who are still seeing their fixed-rate mortgages reset to higher rates over the next two years.
Finally, he said that it’s unknown what will happen to many small-scale landlords who own a rental house or condo that is losing them money every month.
“It’s not uncommon for people who bought a condo a few years ago… to be losing $500 to $800 a month,” he said.
Higher interest rates, especially for those with variable rate mortgages, have put a large number of property investors underwater. Some of them will look to cut their losses and sell those homes, and it’s uncertain what that will do to the price of housing, said Chivers.
“There’s no investors buying them,” he said.
In Langley, sales rose most strongly for condos, with 105 units sold in February, a 90.9 per cent increase on the 55 that sold in the same month a year ago. It was also a sharp increase over the 67 condos that sold in January.
Meanwhile, 77 single-family homes changed hands, a 40 per cent increase year-over-year, and up slightly from January’s numbers.
There were 64 townhouses sold in February in Langley, a 12.3 per cent increase from the same month last year, and a 10.3 per cent jump from January.
The benchmark prices of Langley homes have been relatively flat compared to recent years, which saw staggering increases followed by some sharp price drops.
Through the middle of 2023, prices began to decline slightly. They’re now rebounding and are almost exactly in line with what houses were selling for a year ago.
The benchmark price for a single family home was $1.591 million, up 0.4 per cent from the same month a year ago. Benchmark townhouses were going for $848,900, a decrease of 0.1 per cent from February 2023. Condos were going for $606,000 in February, up 1.5 per cent year-over-year.
More homes were coming on the market in general, but new listings for condos could not keep up with sales.
There were 256 condos for sale in Langley in February, down 1.2 per cent from the same month last year.
There were 257 single family homes for sale, a 24.8 per cent increase from 2023, and 150 townhouses, up 33.9 per cent from the same month last year.