Langley Real Estate

CREDIT: Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Realtor Ted Ross expects to sell a lot more townhouses like these in the next few years. People are moving away from detached houses as they become too expensive, he said.

Langley and nearby towns will see townhouses become one of the most important source of new homes as more buyers are priced out of traditional houses, experts predict.

Both the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board highlighted the increase in townhouses in reports released this week.

The length of time it takes a house or a condo apartment to sell in the South of the Fraser region has recently been going up, the FVREB noted.

However, townhouses are selling faster, with an average of just 33 days between the "For Sale" sign going up and the sale.

"Townhouses are becoming more popular on both ends of the buying spectrum," said Jim McCaughan of the FVREB. "They're more affordable for families getting into the market and empty-nesters are opting to downsize to an attached home as a lifestyle choice."

Langley realtor Ted Ross sells houses, townhouses and condos, and he's seen the sharp increase in townhouse sales in Langley and other nearby communities.

"A lot of people are going back to the townnhouses and the condos," he said.

The price of all types of real estate have almost doubled in the past five years in the Lower Mainland.

Ross said that means everyone is being knocked down a rung. The buyers who, five years ago, would have been house-hunting are now looking at townhouses. Those who would have bought a townhouse five years ago are buying condos, Ross said.

He sees an increasing demand for strata properties across the board over the next few years, as the prices seem set to stay high.

The CMHC is certainly not predicting a drop in either sales or home prices in the near future.

The federal agency's fourth quarter report was released this month, and it predicts strong demand will keep home sales at high levels over the next two years.

Multiple unit projects, including both condo towers and townhouses, will push up new home starts in the Vancouver area, which includes Langley, according to the CMHC projections.

"Price growth will slow in the year ahead, but remain above the long-term average rate of growth," the report says.

Demand may be steady, but prices for houses in the South Fraser area in general and Langley in particular moved little in October.

The price of detached houses dropped by 2.1 per cent in Langley, to $532,094 per home. That's still 9.1 per cent higher than in the same month last year.

Townhouse prices in Langley went up four per cent to $321,353.

Condo apartments saw a modest increase of 1.4 per cent to $222,249 in Langley.

Langley and Abbotsford were aberrations in the region when it came to condo sales. North Delta, Surrey, White Rock and Mission all saw declines in the average prices of apartments.

Month-to-month changes are common in housing.