The NDP promised to make housing more affordable, but after nearly four years of their leadership, housing prices in B.C. are higher than ever and the construction of new homes has slowed significantly.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed a total of 1,718 sales of all property types on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2021, an increase of 76 per cent compared to January 2020 and 18 per cent fewer then were processed in December 2020. Sales in January set a new, record high for the month; 72 per cent above the 10-year average, and 28 per cent higher than the previous record of 1,338 sales set in January 2016.

In a year when the real estate market was at a standstill for months due to COVID-19, total annual sales in the Fraser Valley still finished 12.4 per cent above the 10-year average due to unrelenting, pent-up consumer demand during the second half of 2020.

Any downturn in British Columbia’s housing sector will have serious consequences for the provincial economy, finds a new essay released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

Consumer demand for real estate in the Fraser Valley remained robust for the fourth consecutive month, with overall sales and new listings reaching record-breaking numbers in September.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 2,231 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September, an increase of 66.1 per cent compared to the same month last year and an increase of 9.4 per cent compared to August 2020. This is the highest recorded sales for September in the history of FVREB.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) saw the second highest number of property sales and the highest number of new listings in August within the last two decades, when 2,298 sales were recorded in August 2005.

At a time when engineers, designers and builders are looking for eco-friendly solutions, a centuries-old building material — wood — is increasing in popularity.

Can you imagine a wooden skyscraper? It’s not as far-fetched as you may think. And a growing number of architects, engineers and manufacturers in British Columbia are keen to prove it.

In May, Fraser Valley listings and property sales started to bounce back as REALTORS® helped their clients adjust to the new, necessary safety measures required to buy and sell a home during the provincial state of emergency due to COVID-19.