A very common question I get as a REALTOR® is “How is the market” Typically we understand that to mean is “Is the value of my house going higher or should I be worrying about a bubble?”
To say the real estate market in Abbotsford and Mission areas was active in 2015 would not really do justice to the level of activity we have had. Robust would be a better word. The number of properties that sold was up 33.8% in Abbotsford and 37.1% in Mission. New listings were up only 9.3 and 3.6 per cent respectively.
Market value on average increased about 11% in Abbotsford for a typical Single Family home December 2014 to December 2015. Mission experienced increases of 17.3% for the same time period. This is based on the average price of a single family home as per the House Price Index published by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Jorda Maisy, president of the FVREB had this to say :
The market remains buoyant, and with very low inventory currently there is tremendous
opportunity for sellers. For buyers finding it challenging in their search, REALTORS® are recommending they consider a variety of housing options and communities they may not have considered. There’s a lot of choice out there, you just need to know where to look.”
The next question that may come mind is “What will market value do this next year?” Unfortunately for that one, we cannot accurately predict what will take place. Time will tell the tale of what actually happens but my experience tells me we could expect a levelling off on the activity and depending on our supply, Market Value might level off as well.
Three things that will impact Market Value
Inventory Levels:
Currently our inventory levels are at around 60% of what they would normally be. I recall a similar situation in 1989 and 1990. An extemely robust market caused values to increase and inventory levels to plummet. In the Spring, inventory levels returned to normal and beyond causing a levelling off of our market.
Demand
Some predictions are we will have a strong migration of people to Abbotsford which would fuel the demand. People will need a place to live. Either rental or purchase. Either way demand should be good throughout 2016
Interest Rates
While the Bank of Canada Rate has remained somewhat steady, there is talk that it could go down and perhaps even become negative. This would happen in order to stimulate our economy. You should talk to someone who is smarter than I about such things but the Mortgage rates may actually increase. They are based on the Bond rate and apparently they may go up. Should interest rates go up significantly, it will affect the price of our homes.
Me out on a limb… Or in Summary…. I predict that you will see continued activity in our market but with more modest growth in market value in both Mission and Abbotsford.
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If you are interested in getting your property value updated, please feel free to contact me. I am only to happy to provide that service to you. If you found this article interesting, please like us on facebook or share through twitter.
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