The trend of slow sales is starting to drag down prices across Langley.
House prices dip as market continues to cool off
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance; with files from the Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, August 08, 2008The sellers' market in homes is definitely over.
The average price of a house in Langley and most surrounding communities dropped between June and July, according to numbers released this week by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Meanwhile, realtors and market watchers in Vancouver and other municipalities have also seen home sales decline and prices dip.
Prices were just 1.6 per cent higher than they were a year earlier. In the six years between 2001 and 2007, real estate prices have often ballooned by more than 10 per cent per year.
The price of a townhouse in Langley also dropped by 2.1 per cent, down from $330,122 to $323,102. Prices in that market are up just 2.3 per cent on a year previously.
The price of a condo dipped from $236,690 to $229,305, a 3.1 per cent decline. Condos are about 3.4 per cent pricier this summer than in 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of properties sold continued to fall even as the number of homes on the market grew, a trend that began in the spring.
There are currently a record 12,299 active listings in the FVREB's region, from North Delta to Abbotsford and Mission. The number of listings is 56 per cent higher than in July last year.
Just 1,284 sales were processed by FVREB realtors in July, down 35 per cent compared to the number of sales in July 2007.
FVREB president Kelvin Neufeld characterized the situation as one of greater buyer choice.
"Buyers are now in the drive'rs seat in the Fraser Valley, and we're seeing that reflected in home prices," Neufeld said.
The situation is not the bursting of a bubble, said Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association.
Muir said the situation was the typical end of one real estate cycle.
© Langley Advance 2008
The Schacter Team - Market Stats in Langley