For those who were looking to buy a home in 91原创 in January, there was plenty on offer, with more homes for sale at the start of the year than in any January going back to before the pandemic.

There were 888 homes actively listed for sale in 91原创 across all three major categories 鈥� single-family homes, townhouses, and condos, according to statistics released by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

That was a big increase from the same month last year, when 605 homes of all kinds were listed for sale. Regionally, overall housing inventory was 54 per cent above the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, sales either dropped or didn't change too much from last year's numbers. There were 37 sales of single family homes in January, down 47.9 per cent from 71 sales the year before.

A total of 59 townhouses changed hands, up very slightly from 58 the year before, and 74 condos sold, a 10.4 per cent increase from the 67 that sold in January 2024.

The big change was the flood of new listings. Sellers put 181 new single-family homes, 135 townhouses, and 227 new condos on the market. All of those numbers were significant increases from the year before.

Home prices were up slightly. The benchmark price 鈥� the average for a "typical" home in its category 鈥� was $1,616,600 for a single family home in 91原创 in January, a 2.6 per cent increase year-over-year. Townhouses were going for $864,600, up 0.7 per cent, and condos for $603,900, up just 0.2 per cent.

The relatively low sales volume isn't a surprise for January, traditionally one of the slowest months for real estate sales.

Realtors and real estate forecasters have been predicting that the market, which has been relatively slow for most of the past year and a half, would come back to life as the Bank of Canada slashed interest rates from a high of five per cent. Since June, the bank has reduced its key overnight lending rate, which influences mortgage rates, down to three per cent.

But while there was a bit of a bounce in housing sales at the very end of 2024, it hasn't brought things back to average levels.

鈥淭he market appears to be in a holding pattern at the moment,鈥� said Baldev Gill, CEO of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. 鈥淭here is no doubt that economic uncertainty is playing a role, especially the spectre of a trade war, which could lead to even more rate cuts by the Bank of Canada."

The FVREB's monthly summary of sales and listing data noted that those looking to buy are at an advantage in terms of the overall housing market in the area, with single family homes "firmly" in a buyers' market.

A balanced market is when the number of sales is between 12 and 20 per cent of the active listings. Sales in January were at 11 per cent.