Despite a slower than expected July, August 2021 has come and gone and was the second busiest August in Fraser Valley Real Estate history. To add to that, we are still seeing a huge lack of inventory to choose from telling us that we are, without any doubt, still in a very strong Seller's market.
 
August 2021 saw 1,979 sales, up 2% from August 2020 and 41% higher than the 10 year average for the month. All of this happening with the lowest inventory we have had for a very very long time (Since 1981) for the month of August. 
 
With only 3,678 homes available in August 2021, we were only at 51% of the 10 year average of active inventory for the month of August. Simple supply and demand rules show why prices are where they are; We simply do not have enough inventory with 41% more sales and 51% fewer homes for sale.
 
In the short term, we simply need more people to list their homes for sale, but that would not fix things in the long term as most of those people will still need to buy another home. The only long-term solution that makes any sense is to reduce the restrictions and prohibitive costs that governments implement on developers and builders so that we can have more homes in total. In an area with a quickly growing population, increasing taxes, changing tax rules, or creating new taxes will do absolutely nothing to solve the real cause of the issue. Simply put, not enough homes exist (Supply) to house our population (Demand).
 
On the topic of inventory levels, August 2021 saw a total of 1,971 new listings which is 37% fewer than last year, 13% fewer than July 2021, and 16% fewer than the 10 year average for August.
 
As far as my outlook on the near future of the market, I would not expect to see prices coming down any time soon, and I believe we will see a steady increase in prices for the next several years. I do think that the drastic price increase we saw over the last year will not repeat itself in the next few years, but the idea of seeing things slow down and prices decreasing seems to be very unlikely in my opinion. With that in mind, prices today are likely the lowest they will be for quite some time to come.
 
If you are looking to purchase a home without selling, whether you are a first-time buyer or an investor, I would suggest doing so as soon as you are able to and are comfortable with it. As I said, I do not see prices decreasing any time soon, and interest rates will likely rise into the near future as well, making now potentially the most affordable time to purchase when looking to the future.
 
If, however you are looking to sell and purchase a home, things become more relative as the home you will be buying into will likely appreciate at a similar rate to your current home, so you will likely have more equity to go towards a down payment over time. In other words, my recommendation on the best time to sell and purchase, is simply when the timing is right for you to make that move happen.
 
From January 2010 to January 2020 we have seen condo prices increase by 97%, detached homes increased by 88% and townhouses increase by 76%. This could mean that townhouses may see more of an increase in the near future than other home types, but there are many other variables that must be looked at to make any strong predictions as to what type of home will see more increase into the future.  Since January 2020 however, we have seen condo prices increase by 18%, detached homes increased by 39% and townhouses increase by 28%, which may contradict any conclusions drawn from the 2010 to 2020 numbers. If we compare the growth of each property type from 2010 to 2020 and 2020 to now, it could look as if condos are due for an increase in the near future, but once again, many other factors such as total number of new builds for each property type, affordability, and many other factors could skew any predictions made with these numbers.
 
At the end of the day, I still think the biggest factor in making a decision for your home you live in is to make a move happen when the time is right for you. I would love to hear from you if you are thinking about making a move in the next few years, so we can start making a plan today!