Benchmark housing prices in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows continue to climb amidst the Greater Vancouver region’s best sellers real estate market in a decade.
Bench composite price (detached houses, townhomes and condominiums combined) for homes in Maple Ridge rose by one per cent in the last month, 2.9 per cent in the last three months, 4.6 per cent in the past six months, and 5.9 per cent in the last year.
The estimated benchmark (representing a typical property in a given market) composite price in Maple Ridge is now pegged at $414,600.
The benchmark price on homes in Pitt Meadows rose by 0.3 per cent in one month, 4.3 per cent in three months, 6.2 per cent in six months, and 8.4 per cent in the past year.
The estimated benchmark composite price in Maple Ridge is now at $424,400.
“Conditions today are being driven by low interest rates, a declining supply of detached homes, a growing population, a provincial economy that’s outperforming the rest of Canada, pent-up demand from previous years and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that we live in a highly desirable region,” said Darcy McLeod, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
McLeod said a low inventory of listings results in prices being driven higher.
“We’re seeing a steady stream of new listings entering the market, but the overall number of homes for sale is not keeping up with buyer demand,” McLeod said.
“We continue to see strong competition for homes that are priced right for today’s market,” McLeod added. “It’s important to remember that real estate is hyper local, particularly in a seller’s market. This means that conditions and prices vary depending on property type, neighbourhood, and other factors.”
The local pricing surge is more prevalent in single-family detached homes, with prices in Maple Ridge rising by 1.2 per cent over the past month, 3.9 per cent over the past three months, by 5.7 per cent over the past six months, and by 7.1 per cent over the past year.
The estimated benchmark composite price in Maple Ridge single-family, detached home is now estimated by the REBGV to be at $505,100.
The estimated benchmark price on homes in Pitt Meadows rose by 1.2 per cent in one month, 5.4 per cent in three months, 7.3 per cent in six months, and 10 per cent in the past year.
“Demand in our detached home market continues to drive activity across Metro Vancouver,” McLeod said. “There were more detached home sales in the region last month than we’ve seen during the month of June in more than 10 years.”
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $694,000. This represents a 10.3 per cent increase compared to June 2014.
“Housing market activity comes in cycles; we’re in an up cycle right now that looks similar to the mid-2000s,” McLeod said. “It would be easy to point to one factor that’s causing this cycle, but the truth is that it’s a number of different factors.”
There was a total of 303 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows real estate sales in the month of June 2015, compared to 223 in June 2014 — an increase of 36 per cent.
In comparison, there was a total of 379 homes listed for sale in the month of June 2015, compared to 312 in June 2014 — an increase of 21 per cent.
“The competition in today’s market means that buyers have less time to make decisions,” McLeod said, adding buyers in the local market should work with a real estate agent to develop a buying strategy “that meets your needs and risk appetite, and to receive other services and protections that come from having professional representation.”
Kevin Gillies is a freelance writer for Black Press.