The average sale price of a Chilliwack home hit a new benchmark last month topping half a million dollars.
As buyers from the increasingly unaffordable Metro Vancouver area continue to look east, single family homes continue to be snapped up and prices hit new highs in February, according to data from the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB)
The average price of all homes, including single family, townhouses and apartments, hit $508,261 with 260 sales in the month.
That average sale price is up 21 per cent from the average of $421,546 in February 2017, and 56 per cent from the average price of $325,606 in February 2016.
Single family homes continue to lead the way while townhouses and condos are more popular in markets further west. Of the 260 sales, 137 were detached homes, 59 were apartments and 46 townhouses.
Newly elected Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) President Lori Maier said in a press release issued this week that she’s looking forward to her year ahead at CADREB, and was happy to see the “wow” sales numbers in both residential and commercial sectors.
As sale prices hit record heights in Chilliwack, record low listings persist. There were just 693 units on the market at month end, down from 787 in 2017 and 1,021 in 2016.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack real estate sales remain steady, prices continue to rise in January
Of the 260 sales last month in the CADREB area – which includes Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope and all places in between – the highest number of sales (28) were in the $450,000 to $499,999 range, followed by 23 sales in the $600,000 to $649,999 range. There were four sales over the $1 million mark, including two properties over $2 million.
February’s hot sales come after a somewhat slower January, which didn’t surprise observers who pointed to the new stricter mortgage rules that came into effect Jan. 1.
Other new taxes and possible interest rate hikes are predicted to cool the market, but Chilliwack’s relatively lower prices compared to the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver boards may keep demand high in the eastern Fraser Valley.
“It will be interesting this time next year to see if we will continue with heated prices and low inventory, given rising interest rates and new government regulations with respect to the speculation tax, property transfer tax, and foreign buyers tax,” Maier said.
CADREB reports there is no shortage of is potential buyers. Despite tightened qualification regulations, buyers from the metropolitan areas continue to look further afield to the more affordable housing in the area, as do commercial developers.
“Millennials are now entering the homebuyer age range, which will continue to put demand on product,” added the new CADREB president.
• READ MORE: Second best year ever in 2017 for home sales in Chilliwack and district
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