Home sales were reasonably steady in Langley and across the Fraser Valley in May, though the market is still moving much slower than a few years ago.
Single family homes are still taking the brunt of the real estate slowdown that started in the spring of last year and continued through to this year.
However, there was an uptick in home sales in May compared to April across the region, noted Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president Darin Germyn.
“We’re seeing buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines, act, because of better price opportunities and more selection,” Germyn said. “It’s been four years since buyers had this much choice in the Fraser Valley.”
Detached home sales in Langley have slumped from the frantic buying spree that peaked in 2016 and continued into 2017.
In May of 2017, 183 single family houses changed hands in Langley. In the same month in 2016, 222 houses sold.
That compared to 87 houses that sold this year, and 103 that changed hands in May of 2018.
Sales were down for townhouses and condos as well, but not as severely.
In May 2017, 148 townhouses sold in Langley, and in the same month in 2016, 116 townhouses sold.
In 2018, it was 84 townhouses sold, and in 2019, 85.
Condo sales were more stable: 109 in May 2016, 116 in 2017, declining to 96 in 2018 and 81 in 2019.
Prices also shot up between 2016 and 2017, with the average price of a detached house in Langley leaping across the $1 million mark.
Currently, the average price for a detached house in Langley sits at just above $1 million, but it has slid 7.8 per cent from a year ago.
The median and benchmark prices are just below $1 million.
The benchmark price fora townhouse last month was $497,900, down 5.9 per cent year over year, while condos fell 7.9 per cent to $418,100.
The number of homes for sale continued to balloon in Langley.
There were 439 houses listed for sale, up 11.4 per cent from a year ago, 276 townhouses, up 57.7 per cent, and 322 condos, up 101.3 per cent.
In total across the region, there were 8,506 homes of all types available, a 26.3 per cent jump from May of 2018.
Builders are still finishing major new developments in all three housing segments across Langley, with the most activity in Willoughby and Murravyille.