Upper Fraser Valley Real Estate - June 2009

From the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board:

MLS® home sales activity rose to a 13-month high in May 2009 in the area served by the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board. The supply of homes is also backing down from elevated levels.

According to statistics provided by the Board, MLS® home sales numbered 262 units in May 2009, the highest level since April 2008. This is up 10 per cent from May 2008, and marks the first year-over-year increase in sales activity in 15 months.

Sales activity jumped 39 per cent in May 2009 from the previous month, which is a stronger than normal seasonal increase. As a result, seasonally adjusted sales activity climbed 18 per cent month-over-month in May 2009 (seasonal adjustment removes normal seasonal variations). This adds to monthly increases in each of the previous four months. Seasonally adjusted sales activities now stand at 84 per cent above the recent low in December 2008.

The combined dollar value of MLS® home sales in May 2009 totalled $77.9 million. This is up 3.3 per cent from May 2008.

Total MLS® sales numbered 277 units in May, an increase of 3.7 per cent from year-ago levels. The total value of all MLS® properties sold in May 2009 edged up by eight-tenths of one per cent to $83.2 million.

The MLS® average residential price for homes sold in May 2009 was $297,376. This is down six per cent year-over-year from May 2008, when the average price reached its highest level on record for the month of May. It was also the smallest price decline since December 2008.

The number of new residential listings on the Board’s MLS® system numbered 403 units in May 2009, down 37 per cent from May 2008. This is the fifth consecutive month in which new listings were down from year ago levels. The year-over-year decline in the number of new listings has exceeded 20 per cent every month since the year began.

The number of active listings continues to retreat from the peak reached in July 2008. There were 1,452 active residential listings on the Board’s MLS® system at the end of May 2009, down 24 per cent year-over-year. This is the third consecutive decline in active listings in as many months, and the largest in more than five years. The supply of homes is expected to continue trending lower as sales activity draws down inventories and new listings continues to trend lower.

“Improving consumer confidence and lower interest rates are drawing buyers to the housing market, and that has caused the MLS® housing market to firm up considerably in recent months,” said Jim Adam, President of the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board.