On the heels of the busiest year in history for Fraser Valley real estate, January activity saw the beginnings of a market rebalancing. Overall property sales — still the third highest ever for January — cooled compared to December while the volume of new listings improved significantly.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed a total of 1,310 sales of all property types on its Multiple Listing Service®(MLS®) in January 2022, a decrease of 23.7 percent compared to January 2021, and 27.5 percent lower compared to December 2021.

The Board received 2,135 new listings in January, an increase of 67.1 percent compared to December 2021, and a decrease of 23.3 percent compared to January of last year. Total active listings for the month were 2,332, down 44.6 percent compared to January 2021, however an increase of 19.2 percent compared to December 2021.

Larry Anderson, President of the Board, said, "In January, REALTORS® saw the return of home sellers. Yes, sales in our region remain elevated, but a positive, early trend for 2022 is we experienced a significant increase in requests from sellers to list.

"It's early days yet, but if this trend continues into spring, we could see an easing of the supply-demand dynamic in our region. We have a long way to go to replenish our housing stock and bring much-needed balance to the market, but this is a step in the right direction."

Baldev Gill, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said, "For almost two years, Fraser Valley REALTORS® have worked hard to help their clients navigate safely during the longest, most intense seller's market in our Board's history. This protracted pandemic market has resulted in considerable upward pressure on home prices

"We anticipate the seasonal influx of new inventory, such as we're already seeing, could provide a welcome, albeit far from fully adequate, easing of price growth moving into 2022."

In January 2022, the average number of days to sell a single-family detached home in the Fraser Valley was 25, compared to 35 days in January 2021; 12 days on average to sell a townhome, and 17 days for apartments, compared to 28 and 37 days respectively, in January of last year.

MLS® HPI Benchmark Price Activity

Single Family Detached: At $1,569,300, the Benchmark price for an FVREB single-family detached home increased 4.6 percent compared to December 2021 and increased 41.8 percent compared to January 2021.

Townhomes: At $796,500, the Benchmark price for an FVREB townhome increased 4.0 percent compared to December 2021 and increased 37.2 percent compared to January 2021.

Apartments: At $574,300, the Benchmark price for an FVREB apartment/condo increased 4.6 percent compared to December 2021 and increased 30.6 percent compared to January 2021.