Another month gone by, another record set for total number of sales that month. With 2,951 sales processed by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, May beat the previous record set in 2016 of 2,911 sales.  May 2021 outperformed May 2020 by 267% (No, that is not a typo!) These numbers are a little bit misleading however as May 2020 was a near record low month due to the lockdowns we faced. Sales in May 2021 were down from April 2021 by 2%.

The slight decrease in sales is likely due to buyers resisting the continuously increasing prices, along with fewer new listings in May 2021 compared to April 2021.  May 2021 saw a total of 3,926 new listings which was 22% fewer new listings than April 2021. While the new listings are down month to month, the total number of homes available has stayed at a healthy amount with May 2021 finishing up with 5,194 active listings.

The demand from buyers has not yet started to slow, but like any change, we have adapted to what is seeming to become the new norm in a much higher demand for housing than we have seen in the past. The build up of inventory has certainly helped ease the chaos that we saw in the second half of February through to the second half of April, but it does not appear that the market is showing any signs of slowing down.

Month to month the price of an average home increased around 2.3% from April 2021 to May 2021, which is a lower increase than seen in recent month to month comparisons. We will likely see the amount of any month over month increase in price further reduced from May to June as we continue to adapt to this quick moving market, particularly if we continue to see enough new listings to keep the inventory supply at a high number.

Multiple offers are still quite common, but as I mentioned last month, they are happening less frequently and when they do happen, there are fewer offers on the table than we would have seen in March and April.

I have mentioned a few times that buyers have begun to “adapt” to this market and by that, I mean buyers are less likely to compete in a multiple offer situation than before as there are often more homes to choose from. Supply and demand is a rather simple concept and of course if supply increases (more listings) and demand remains the same (nearly the same amount of sales month to month) we will begin to see more stability in the market.

It will be interesting to see what is coming up in the next few months as we typically see activity begin to slow as we get into the summer months. This year may be different; Government mandated covid restrictions are beginning to ease and this could go one of two different ways. We could see all the “Would-Be” sellers that were concerned about the safety of listing their home during the pandemic begin to feel more comfortable with the numbers and have a larger influx of new listings in the coming months. We might also see the typical type of activity we often see in the summer with fewer homes coming on the market as sellers would rather relax and put their feet up to enjoy the sunshine instead of dealing with the stresses of selling. This could also be compounded by the pent-up demand many of us have to get away and enjoy some vacation time as the recreational travel restrictions are lifted.

Either way, the results will likely be the same come winter, but in scenario A we will see more activity over the summer and balance through the fall, whereas scenario B would likely cause prices to rise in the summer as the inventory shrinks, only to see a larger number of new listings in the fall to ease the demand.

Whether you are looking to buy or sell, now is a great time to do so as the market is hot and many new homes are regularly showing up for sale.

If you are looking to buy, but the idea of having to do subject free offers is turning you away, I am proud to say that I have helped more than 16 buyers this year get accepted offers, all with subjects!

No matter what and when your next move is going to be, get in touch soon so we can start making your unique plan!