SURREY, BC – Sales on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) remained strong in July – however, for the first time this year, monthly sales did not break a historical record for our region.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,962 sales of all property types on its MLS® in July, a decrease of 10.2 per cent compared to the 2,184 sales in July 2015, and a 31.5 per cent drop compared to the 2,864 transactions processed in June 2016.

“A slowing down in activity is expected during the summer. While it may seem drastic or alarming when compared to months prior, this easing off is welcome as we get further into the year – the pace of the market slows, and inventory has a chance to catch up,” said Board President Charles Wiebe.

The Board received 3,226 new listings in July, an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to July of last year, and a 12.9 per cent decrease from June 2016. The total active inventory for July was 6,012, down 21.7 per cent from last year’s 7,681 active listings at this time.

“This is a good thing for our market, and buyers especially. Additional inventory will help drive us towards a more balanced environment for consumers and remove some of the upward pressure on prices we’ve been seeing.”

Across Fraser Valley, the average number of days to sell a single family detached home in July 2016 was 18 days, compared to 33 days in July 2015.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price of a Fraser Valley single family detached home in July was $881,400, an increase of 41.9 per cent compared to July 2015 when it was $621,100.

In July, the benchmark price of townhouses was $408,200, an increase of 33.9 per cent compared to $304,900 in July 2015. The benchmark price of apartments also increased year-over-year by 24.9 per cent, going from $192,700 in July 2015 to $240,600 in July 2016.