Real estate prices on the rise in communities surrounding Vancouver
Posted April 8, 2016 12:32 pm.
Last Updated April 8, 2016 12:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Sky-high real estate prices aren’t just a Vancouver reality any more.
Take Langley, where two storey homes are up a remarkable 17.1 per cent year-over-year, according to Royale LePage, with the average selling price $717,000 in the first quarter of this year.
Managing Broker Michael Trites with Royal LePage Northstar Realty says a shortage of housing supply is a big factor.
“It’s affecting the market all the way through,” says Trites. “We’re down 35-38 per cent, in most areas, for available listings. So, strong demand is fuelling the prices going up.”
Trites says Vancouver sellers often end up buying again in surrounding areas — pushing prices in those communities up.
“When we have to represent buyers and we’re trying to do the best job for them, it’s frustrating for us, because they lose out on a multiple offer,” says Trites. “We try to give the best advice, but list prices have now become a starting point.”
He says while it was once rare for homes to sell for higher than the asking prices — that’s fairly commonplace now, even beyond the urban centres.
