We hope you had a fantastic Summer. With back-to-school routines and the approach of cooler fall weather, let’s take a quick look at how the real estate market has been shaping up.
August saw yet another decrease in total sales, marking the lowest number of transactions in a month since January. The average sales price edged up slightly, however, it is worth noting that this increase wasn’t reflected on a per square foot basis, which suggests the shift could be due to the types of properties sold rather than a broad price increase across the board.
Taking a look at the larger real estate ecosystem as a whole, we saw a third consecutive announcement with a rate drop from the Bank of Canada. Typically, rate changes take a few months to impact market activity, so it is possible that we see more movement in the fall as we move later into a slower-than-usual year. Inventory levels decreased in August for the first time in 8 months. That being said, it looks like they are increasing again in September as there are many new listings hitting the market while sales numbers halfway through the month remain low. In fact, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board statistics up to this point in September, it looks like we will see yet another month of declining sales volume.
In other real estate news, the Federal Government has raised the insured mortgage cap to $1.5M, while also expanding the 30-year amortization rules to include all homes purchased by first time homebuyers. These changes are set to take effect in December of this year. More information regarding these changes can be found in the article below.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if sales pick up in the coming months. With another announcement from the Bank of Canada scheduled for October 23, there is speculation that we could potentially see the policy interest rate be decreased by 50 basis points or 0.5% (see article). It feels like it is only a matter of time before activity increases again. The question is will that happen in the last quarter of 2024 or in 2025.
Despite the overall market slowdown, August was a busy month for our team at Leffers and Rook. If you’re considering buying or selling, or just want to chat about the current market, feel free to reach out. We’d love to connect!
