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Home sales and prices continue to drop in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

Rising interest rates among factors cooling the real estate market
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Construction of the Edge 3 condo development in downtown Maple Ridge has begun, with the Edge 2 building visible in the background. Apartments are maintaining their value better than other property types in Maple Ridge. (Neil Corbett/The News)

House sales were cut in half this summer in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, compared with 2021.

The latest stats from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver shows that for the months of June, July and August of 2022 there were 191 house sales between the two cities. That is down 51 per cent compared with the 392 sales during the same three months of 2021.

The numbers were down in other property types as well, as 117 townhouses sold, which was a drop of 33 per cent, and 103 apartments for a drop of 27 per cent.

With inflation running hot, the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates to get it under control, and that has been one of the factors influencing listings and sales. The REBGV reports that residential home sales across the region totalled 1,870 in August 2022, which was a 41 per cent decrease from the 3,152 sales in August 2021. Last month’s sales were also 29 per cent below the 10-year August sales average.

“With inflationary pressure and interest rates on the rise, home buyer and seller activity shifted below our long-term seasonal averages this summer,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director, economics and data analytics said. “This shift in market conditions caused prices to edge down over the past four months.”

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The REBGV stats show the benchmark price of a house in Maple Ridge is down 12.8 per cent over the past six months, and now sits at $1.28 million. In Pitt Meadows it is about the same, at $1.25 million. The median price across Greater Vancouver is $1.95 million.

Townhouses have dropped to $750,000 in Maple Ridge, and $829,000 in Pitt Meadows, compared with a Greater Vancouver overall benchmark price of $1.07 million.

Apartment prices have remained about the same over the past six months, at $546,000 in Maple Ridge, $618,000 in Pitt Meadows and $740,000 across Greater Vancouver.

Local realtor Matt Olson said the price corrections have created opportunities for move-up buyers to go from an apartment or townhouse to a detached house.

“That affordability will be there again,” he said.

He said buyers have been anticipating another interest rate increase this week, which could lead to more softening of prices.

“With interest rates rising, some buyers are on the sidelines, just waiting to see what will happen,” he said.

“We’re into a buyer’s market. The tables have turned in the past six months.”

He is a member of the Olson team with his father Ritch Olson, who has worked as a realtor for some 30 years.

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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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