91原创

Real estate sales showed signs of stabilizing in 91原创 and across the region, with small increases of price and sales, although both are well down from their peaks last year.

Sales of detached houses, townhouses, and condos in 91原创 were all up in February compared to October, and there were small increases in benchmark prices as well, according to data released on March 2 by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

However, sales remain extremely low compared to early last year, when a two-year real estate boom 鈥� driven by rock bottom interest rates and the desire for more living space during the pandemic 鈥� was about to abruptly end.

When the Bank of Canada began raising interest rates early last year, sales began drying up, and within a few months, housing prices slid off their record highs.

Now the numbers show the dramatic drop may have bottomed out.

鈥淚 think the market is picking up a little bit,鈥� said Brenda Lee, a 91原创 realtor.

If the price is right on a home, you will get calls about it, she said.

People who have to sell or have to buy a home are still in the market, and those who have held off for a long time waiting are starting to trickle back in, Lee said.

鈥淚nterest rates are still high, and we don鈥檛 know what the next rate will be,鈥� Lee said.

But she said that she expects the market to return to a normal condition, not the wild sales numbers that characterized much of 2020 and 2021.

In 91原创, 55 single-family homes sold in February, down 43.9 per cent from the 98 that changed hands in the same month last year. It was the same story for townhouses, which saw 57 sales in February, compared to 104 in the previous year, and 55 condos, compared to 109 year-over-year.

However, sales in all three types of housing were up from January, traditionally one of the slowest months of the year for housing sales.

PREVIOUSLY: Home sales hit new low as 91原创 prices keep dropping

PREVIOUSLY: Housing prices slip further in 91原创

The benchmark price 鈥� the average price for a 鈥渢ypical鈥� home 鈥� increased slightly month over month as well for 91原创 housing, but remains significantly down from the peak hit early last spring.

The benchmark price for a 91原创 house was $1.46 million, up 0.4 per cent from January, but down a full 20 per cent from the $1.83 million it hit in February 2022.

Townhouses were selling for $801,300, up 0.1 per cent from January, down 7.2 per cent from $863,800 last year. Condos, at $557,800 benchmark, were up 1.5 per cent from January, but are down 11.5 per cent from the $630,100 benchmark of a year ago.

More people were listing their homes for sale in February than in January, but new listings remained lower across all categories of housing than in February 2022.

In the Fraser Valley region, from North Delta to Abbotsford, 898 homes of all types changed hands, 50.8 per cent lower than the same month last year. The average price has dropped from $1.28 million for all types of homes, to $935,374. That鈥檚 a 26.9 per cent decline, year over year.

The average price in the Fraser Valley for a detached home peaked at about $1.9 million in early 2022. It then began a steep slide that bottomed out just over $1.3 million. As of this month, it has edged up above $1.4 million again.