Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board MLS® home sales remain below historical norms but still on the path to recovery

The number of homes sold through the MLS^® System of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board totaled 244 units in June 2023. This was an advance of 32.6% from June 2022. Home sales were 15% below the five-year average and 27.9% below the 10-year average for the month of June. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,502 units over the first six months of the year. This was down sharply by 13.1% from the same period in 2022.

“Sales activity came in well below what we would consider typical levels for this time of year in June. However, looking past the seasonality on a monthly basis we are seeing a definitive upward movement that’s been going strong since the end of last year,” said Brad Latham, President of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board. “New listings have popped up over the last two months from their slump earlier in the year, which should serve to continue fuelling the recovery in sales. Our inventory levels are down rather sharply over the past few months due to the sudden surge in demand, although this has been tempered in May and June by the return of sellers to the market.”

The MLS^® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS^® HPI composite benchmark price was $744,400 in June 2023, down by 8.2% compared to June 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $901,900, a decrease of 6.9% on a year-over-year basis in June. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $607,700, a moderate decrease of 9.3% compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $415,400, falling by 9.1% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in June 2023 was $791,510, a minor increase of 3.6% from June 2022. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $756,754, a large decline of 12.8% from the first six months of 2022. The dollar value of all home sales in June 2023 was $193.1 million, a substantial gain of 37.4% from the same month in 2022. The number of new listings saw a sharp decrease of 22.6% from June 2022. There were 490 new residential listings in June 2023.

New listings were 6% below the five-year average and 3.1% below the 10-year average for the month of June. Active residential listings numbered 984 units on the market at the end of June, down sharply by 22.6% from the end of June 2022. Active listings were 7.7% below the five-year average and 8.2% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

Months of inventory numbered 4 at the end of June 2023, down from the 6.9 months recorded at the end of June 2022 and above the long-run average of 3.7 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

The Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board is an association of 365 REALTORS^® that provides services to and sets standards for members. The Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board serves Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope, Boston Bar and Harrison.