For immediate release: February 2, 2011
INCREASE IN LISTINGS ADVANTAGEOUS FOR
FRASER VALLEY BUYERS
(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reports an increase in listing activity and steady sales for the
first month of 2011.
Deanna Horn, president of the Board says, “In addition to an influx of new inventory in January, our
REALTORS® had more inquiries and increased traffic at open houses boding well for a solid spring market in the
Fraser Valley.”
There were 834 sales processed on the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January, a decrease of 15
per cent compared to the 981 sales processed in January 2010 and a 7 per cent decrease compared to the 895 sales
in December.
Although the Board received 11 per cent fewer new listings in January than it did during the same month last
year, it saw the typical post-holiday surge in new properties coming on stream. The Board received 2,632 new
listings last month, an increase of 138 per cent compared to the 1,104 listings received in December taking the
number of active listings to 7,724 at the end of January, 4 per cent more than were available during January 2010.
Horn adds, “The market typically picks up at this time of year as also evidenced by the decrease in the average
number of days to sell for single family homes and townhomes in January.
“In terms of prices, overall they’re holding steady, however we are seeing variability depending on the
community and property type.”
The benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes in January was $505,618, down 0.1 per cent compared to
December and 0.9 per cent higher compared to $500,931 in January 2010.
The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in January was $317,414, a 1.4 per cent decrease compared to
December and a 0.1 per cent decrease compared to January 2010 when it was $317,719. Year-over-year, the
benchmark price of apartments decreased 2.6 per cent going from $243,470 in January 2010 to $237,171 last
month and decreased 1.2 per cent compared to December 2010.
The average number of days to sell for detached homes in January was 62.2, down from 67.9 in December.
Townhouses on average sold in 57.7 days last month, down almost nine days compared to December, however
apartments took on average 14.6 days longer to sell, going from 65.6 in December to 80.2 days in January.