The autumn slump in real estate sales deepened in 91原创 and across the Fraser Valley in October, according to monthly data from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

Sales of detached houses were particularly slow as inventories of unsold homes stayed relatively high, especially compared to condos and townhouses.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing in the Fraser Valley, and indeed across the province, is the impact of sustained high interest rates on the overall market,鈥� said Narinder Bains, chair of the FVREB. 鈥淭his has been the case since the latter half of the year so far, and we anticipate the trend will continue until we start to see some downward movement in the policy rate.鈥�

Across the region, from North Delta through to Abbotsford, 970 homes of all types sold, down from 1,100 in September.

鈥淭he market has stabilized,鈥� said Stefanie Richardson of 91原创鈥檚 Robles Real Estate Group.

There is still low inventory of homes for sale, and the buyers remain 鈥渙n the fence,鈥� she said, although there was a bit of an increase in interest after the late-October decision by the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates stable. That gave people more certainty, Richardson said.

There were 57 sales of detached homes in 91原创 in October, down from 60 the same month a year ago, and a significant drop from the 71 that sold in September.

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Townhouses, meanwhile, were on a more even keel, with 58 sales in October, up 9.4 per cent from 53 sales that took place both in the same month last year, and in September.

There were 74 condo sales in 91原创 in October, a 19.4 per cent increase year-over-year, and a 12.9 per cent drop from 85 sales in September.

Prices were close to flat from September, but still higher than last year.

The benchmark price for a single-family home in 91原创 was $1.63 million, which is still 6.5 per cent higher than in the same month last year.

Townhouses were going for $869,600, up 2.7 per cent year-over-year.

Condos were selling for $609,500, a 3.7 per cent increase from last year.

The benchmark price is the average price for a typical home as calculated by the FVREB.

Richardson noted that detached homes in 91原创 are in a bit of a buyers market, with larger inventories compared to other types of homes.

Some houses, in good shape, the right location, and priced right, are still selling fairly quickly, she noted.

However, affordability and reluctance to sell are a factor too.

鈥淎 lot of our detached houses are held by people in that older, retired demographic that are having a tough time downsizing,鈥� she said.

They don鈥檛 want a condo, and rancher-style townhouses are a scarce resource. The owners are scared to sell before they buy in case they can鈥檛 find something they like, and they worry about buying before the sell in case they can鈥檛 unload their old home and wind up owning two at once, said Richardson.

There have also been some shifts in one of the common ways parents helped their adult buy their first home.

Richardson said that while the 鈥渂ank of mom and dad鈥� still exists, high interest rates on lines of credit mean that鈥檚 a less popular way to loan money to offspring.

Some parents are investing with their children, buying a part interest in a condo, for example.

There are also more multi-family move ins taking place, Richardson said.

The benchmark price of a detached home is currently 180 per cent higher than it was 10 years ago in 91原创. Townhouses are 182 per cent more expensive, and condos are 193.5 per cent more expensive.