Sales of single family homes and townhouses dipped in Langley in October, sharply falling from last year and dropping below pre-pandemic levels.
The newest data from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) shows that 94 single family homes sold in October, down 39 per cent from the 154 homes that sold in the same month in 2020, when a real estate buying frenzy was still running throughout the Lower Mainland.
The numbers were also quite a bit lower than the 119 homes that sold in October of 2019, the last year before the pandemic upended the traditional real estate sales cycle.
There were 111 sales of townhouses in Langley in October, down 15.9 per cent from the 132 that sold in the same month last year, up from the 88 that sold in 2019.
Condos saw 128 sales in October, up 5.8 per cent from the 121 that changed hands in the same month last year, and well above the 86 that sold in October 2019.
The last year and a half of surging demand has left prices much higher, with the benchmark price – the average price for a “typical” local home – for a single family home in Langley at $1.45 million, up 33.6 per cent from the $1 million level it was sitting at a year ago.
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Benchmark townhouses were selling for $733,700, up 27.3 per cent from $576,400 a year ago, while condos were going for $486,500, up 22.4 per cent from just under $400,000.
The head of the FVREB pointed to strong demand for housing combined with low numbers of homes for sale for the situation.
“It is a very challenging time, particularly for buyers,” said FVREB president Larry Anderson. “I empathize with clients who have been trying to buy a home for more than a year without success after multiple attempts.”
Longtime Langley realtor Joel Schacter said that the situation right now was “not comfortable for anybody.”
“We have a critical shortage of inventory… and we have a surplus of buyers,” Schacter said.
Any home that comes on the market is snapped up immediately.
“It almost doesn’t seem to matter what people are asking,” he said.
The situation is unprecedented in Schacter’s experience.
He said some people want to sell, but are afraid that they might not be able to find anything to buy – and that has happened to some people, who have made multiple offers without being able to land a home.
Those who are buying are often making multiple offers, well over asking price.
Meanwhile, this is bad for those who have to move, whether for job, health, or marital status reasons, Schacter said.
In Langley, there were just 149 single family homes actively listed for sale in October, compared to 218 in the same month in 2020, and 336 in October 2019.
There were 81 townhouses listed, compared to 214 a year before and 269 in 2019.
As for condos, there were 160 on the market in October, down from 391 a year before, and 269 in 2019.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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