Home sales in 91原创 rose significantly in October for the first time in months, as interest rate cuts reduced the cost of a mortgage for most home buyers.

Regionally, the FVREB saw 1,330 home sales in October, up a full 35 per cent from a sluggish September, and 37 per cent higher than in the same month last year.

鈥淎fter waiting it out on the sidelines for a number of months, buyers seem to be finally responding to the series of successive rate cuts by the Bank of Canada,鈥� said Jeff Chadha, FVREB chair. 鈥淲hether this is an indication of further sales trends, remains to be seen, especially as the feds eye a possible additional cut before year-end.鈥�

The overall number of homes for sale remained relatively high compared to recent years, with 8,799 houses, condos, and townhouses on the market in the region, down just three per cent from September, but still 34 per cent higher than last year.

In 91原创, 84 single family homes sold in October, up 18.3 per cent from September, and up 47.4 per cent from the same month last year.

There were 82 townhouse sales, a 5.1 per cent increase over September, and 41.4 per cent more than in October 2023. There were 99 condo sales, a 15.1 per cent increase from September, and 33.8 per cent increase year-over-year.

Prices dipped very slightly in October.

The benchmark price 鈥� the average price for a "typical" local home 鈥� for a detached house was $1,613,500, down 0.5 per cent month over month, and 1.2 per cent lower than a year ago. Townhouses were going for $864,800, down one per cent from September, and 1.1 per cent year-over-year. A benchmark condo went for $604,800, 0.3 per cent less than in September, and down 0.5 per cent from a year ago.

The number of homes actively listed for sale dipped slightly, but was still higher than last year.

There were 450 single family homes for sale, down eight per cent from September but still 19.7 per cent more than in October 2023. With townhouses, there were 221 units for sale, a 7.1 per cent decline month-over-month, but still 47.3 per cent more than were for sale a year ago. In condos, 445 units were for sale, down just 2.2 per cent from September, and 56.7 per cent higher year-over-year.

The higher sales in 91原创 and the Fraser Valley were mirrored across B.C., according to Brendon Ogmundson, the chief economist of the B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA).

"We saw a similar move in basically every market across B.C. in October," said Ogmundson. 

He noted that the sales boost began in early October, before the Bank of Canada made a half-point interest rate cut.

With further cuts expected, he said to expect stronger sales from now into 2025. But that doesn't mean a huge real estate boom 鈥� it means a return to "normal" levels, at or maybe just below the 10-year sales averages.

Even with further interest rate cuts, it's unlikely that the rate of a five-year fixed mortgage will drop much farther in the near future, Ogmundson said.

"This might be as good as it'll get for five-year fixed," he said.

The trend this year had been towards slowing sales, while the number of homes available steadily rose over the summer months. 

The last time before October that there was a boost in home sales was a modest bump in April, at the start of the traditional home buying season. After that, numbers stagnated, with buyers either unwilling or unable to purchase homes in the numbers seen in recent years.

The Lower Mainland housing market has seen a number of wild price swings over the years, with prices shooting up between 2004 and 2008, and again between 2015 and 2018. The sharpest price spike was during the pandemic, when the average price of a detached single family home rose from around $1 million to over $1.8 million, before finally dropping.

Prices dropped from that peak as the economy stabilized, but remain very elevated compared to a few years ago, with the average price at $1.48 million as of October.