There is little question that 2021 will be the biggest year ever in British Columbia real estate sales, and the relatively small Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) market may see the biggest growth of all.
The second quarter forecast issued by the B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) predicts a 51.6 per cent increase in home sales in Chilliwack for 2021. That estimate of 5,300 sales compares to the 3,497 number of homes sold in 2020, which itself was a 25.4 per cent increase over 2019.
The average sale price of a home in the CADREB area – which includes Chilliwack, Cultus Lake, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs, Hope and the rural areas in between – is forecast to hit $692,900 in 2021, up 20 per cent from $577,279 in 2020.
And if the next half of the year is anything like last month, even that might be a low-ball estimate as the average price of all homes sold in CADREB in April was $749,158.
READ MORE: Chilliwack sees explosion of million-dollar home sales
Provincewide, while the BCREA forecasts fading momentum by the end of the year which will reduce the number of sales in 2022, prices may continue to rise.
Across all markets in B.C., the BCREA predicts 125,600 home sales in 2021, a 33.6 per cent increase over 2020. The average home price is forecast to hit $893,800 in 2021, a 14.3 per cent increase over 2020.
As for 2022, the BCREA forecasts a 20.3 per cent drop in sales to 100,150, but a 3.1 per cent increase in the average price of all home types to $921,800.
More locally, the prediction for 2022 in Chilliwack is for a 28.3 per cent drop in sales back down to 3,800 but a 3.4 per cent increase in prices to $716,400.
All sales and price forecasts from the BCREA in the second quarter for 2021 nearly double predictions made in the first quarter.
RELATED: 16% boom predicted for B.C. real estate sales in 2021: experts
Low mortgage rates coupled with buyers flocking to less populated markets led to the big increases seen over the last eight months. That could slow with a creep up in interest rates and a catch-up in supply, but not any time soon.
“The trajectory of home sales in the second half of 2021 and for 2022 will be highly dependent on the evolution of Canadian mortgage rates,” the BCREA forecasts. “Home sales will likely slow toward the second half of this year. However, even factoring in a second-half slowdown, provincial unit sales are still projected to reach a record.”
RELATED: Chilliwack housing market projected to be among B.C.’s hottest in 2021
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