Langley Real Estate

From Pemberton through to Mission, and from Tsawwassen through to Abbotsford, we can see our neighbourhoods changing, sometimes almost daily, as our population increases and shifts before our very eyes.

If we listen to demographers and statisticians, we know these trends are only expected to continue.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Real Estate Foundation of BC, REALTORS® have a valuable tool that can assist them in understanding the changing neighbourhood dynamics. This new tool, offering important primary research and data, is the 2008 Home Buyers and Sellers Survey, covering the entire Lower Mainland. It was jointly conducted by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

The survey provides primary information about the current behavior of home buyers and sellers, and future trends. The findings will benefit not just REALTORS®, but a wide range of stakeholders in the housing industry, including builders, developers, financial institutions, community planners, academics and residents.

Key data

First-time home buyers

• In the FVREB area, 26% of buyers last year were first-timers.
• In the REBGV area, 22% of home buyers were first-time buyers.
• In the FVREB area, 52% of first-time buyers were male and 48% were female.
• In the REBGV area, 61% of first time buyers were female and 39% were male.
• In the FVREB area, 47% of first-time buyers were age 18-34; 27% were age 35-44; 18% were age 45-54; and interestingly 5% were age 55-64 and 2% of first-time buyers were age 65+.
• In the REBGV area, 49% of first-time buyers were age 18-34; 34% were age 35-44; 12% were age 45-54; 1% were age 55-64; and interestingly, 3% of first-time buyers were age 65+.

What does this mean?

Significantly more females than males buy their first home in the REBGV area at a younger age, while younger single males in the FVREB area are first-time buyers. Of interest, there are first-time buyers aged 65+ throughout the Lower Mainland.

What are first-timers buying?

• In the FVREB area, 91% bought a resale home. Of all first-time buyers here, 56% bought a detached home, 21% bought a townhouse, 19% bought a condominium and 2 % bought a duplex.
• In the REBGV area, 90% bought a resale home. Of all first-time buyers here, 44% bought a detached home, 37% bought a condominium, 16% bought a townhouse and 4% bought a duplex.

Why did they select a specific neighbourhood location?

• In the FVREB area, buyers chose their neighbourhood based on:
  • how close it was to shops and grocery stores (34%)
  • how close it was to work (and lessened the commute time) (19%)
  • how close it was to schools (18%)
  • less crime/safety (18%)
• In the REBGV area, buyers chose their neighbourhood based on:
  • how close it was to shops and grocery stores (38%)
  • how close it was to schools (24%)
  • how close it was to public transit (22)
  • how close it was to work (and lessened the commute time) (22%)

  Note: numbers do not add to 100% because survey respondents could list multiple reasons.)

• In the FVREB area, 21% paid more for a home to be closer to amenities.
• In the REBGV area, 36% of all home buyers paid more for a home to be closer to amenities.

What did buyers compromise to afford a home?

• In the FVREB area, 10% compromised on the size of home; 9% on the lot/yard size; 8% on the condition of the home; and 6% on the distance from work.
• In the REBGV area, 17% compromised on the size of home; 10% on the condition of the home; 7% of the lot size/yard size; and 7% on the distance from work.

Future plans for buying and selling

Within the next five years:

• In the FVREB area, 56% of home buyers do not plan to buy or sell; 26% do plan to buy or sell and 17% may buy or sell their home. Again, close to half (43%) of all home owners will or may buy or sell a home in the next five years.
• In the REBGV area, 56% of home buyers do not plan to buy or sell; 27% do plan to buy or sell and 17% may buy or sell their home. This means close to half (44%) of all home owners will or may buy or sell a home in the next five years.

The demographics

Who are the buyers and sellers?

Key characteristics of buyers and sellers include:

• Buyers tend to be younger than sellers with more than half of buyers being less than 45 years of age;
• Just over half of sellers are 45 years of age or older.
• The majority (seven-in-ten) of buyers and sellers are married or living common-law.
• The average household size is 2.7. In the Fraser Valley buyer households tend to be slightly larger (3.0).
• One-third of REBGV home buyers were born in BC. The proportion is slightly higher in the Fraser Valley (about 40%).
• A language other than English is spoken in the homes of 15% of buyers in both regions and 10% of sellers in Greater Vancouver and 7% of sellers in the Fraser Valley. Punjabi is the most common alternate language in the Fraser Valley.
• Approximately 8% of households have extended family living with them.

To read the survey, visit www.realtorlink.ca and select Publications and News. The link to the 2008 Home Buyers and Sellers Survey is available in the Recent Publicatons section. If you have any comments, please contact Eileen Day, Director of Communications, at eday@fvreb.bc.ca.

The Schacter Team - Langley Homes