Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows maintained steady home sales through the summer, while much of the Greater Vancouver market was quiet.
The sales registered on MLS in the region were 17 per cent down from August of 2023, and 26 per cent below 10-year seasonal averages.
“From a seasonal perspective, August is typically a slower month for sales than June or July. In this respect, this August has been no different,” said Andrew Lis, Greater Vancouver Realtors’ (GVR) director of economics and data analytics. “With that said, sales remain in a holding pattern, trending roughly 20 per cent below their 10-year seasonal average, which suggests buyers are still feeling the pinch of higher borrowing costs, despite two recent quarter percentage point reductions to the policy rate this summer.”
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have fared better than the region as a whole, with sales of detached homes totalling 237 in June, July, and August of 2024, compared with 251 during the same period in 2023 – a reduction of 5.6 per cent. Similarly, townhouse sales dropped from 154 to 141 for a 8.4 per cent reduction, and apartments dropped from 135 to 116, for a 14 per cent plunge.
The 66 houses sold in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows in August was the most of any area covered by the GVR board. The benchmark price of $1.3 million is well below the Greater Vancouver median price of $2 million for a house.
"Prices have held together fairly well in Maple Ridge through everything," said local realtor Danny Gerbrandt. "If you're priced right, that's moving."
He said the recent quarter-point reduction in mortgage rates is a step in the right direction, in a market where some buyers struggle to qualify for the home they want.
"Every dollar counts when people look at what they can afford," said Gerbrandt.
He said Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are generally outperforming surrounding cities in real estate sales, and townhouses and homes with rental suites as a mortgage helper are popular commodities
So far in 2024, there have been 696 houses, 410 townhouses and 316 apartments sold in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows, compared with 671 houses, 374 townhouses and 330 apartments during the January-to-August time frame in 2023.
The number of listings is up across the region. The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS system in Metro Vancouver is 13,812, a 37 per cent increase compared to August 2023 (10,082). This total is also 20.8 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (11,432).
