Real estate sales remained sluggish in May, while ever more homes were put up for sale across 91原创 and the rest of the region, according to statistics released June 4 by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

Across the area stretching from North Delta to Abbotsford, 1,517 homes were sold last month, 11 per cent below the same month last year, and 21 per cent below the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, the number of homes listed for sale rose by eight per cent, hitting 7,904, a 42 per cent increase over the same month last year, and 19 per cent above the 10-year average.

鈥淲e are seeing an influx of inventory this spring, primarily due to slower than usual spring sales,鈥� said Jeff Chadha, chair of the FVREB.

He said the growing inventory was giving buyers more options.

In 91原创, 129 single-family homes sold in May, up 38.7 per cent from the same month last year, and a 26.5 per cent jump from April.

But it was a different story for townhouses, which saw 87 units sold, down 7.4 per cent year-over-year, and dropping 17.9 per cent from April.

Condo buyers purchased 98 units in 91原创 in May, a 16.2 per cent drop from May 2023, and three per cent below April鈥檚 numbers.

Meanwhile, inventories of homes with For Sale signs surged.

There were 433 single family homes on the market in May, a 115.4 per cent increase compared to last year, 244 townhouses, a jump of 162.4 per cent, and 377 condos, up 68.3 per cent.

Throughout the spring, prices have barely budged for any type of housing, and that stayed true in May.

The benchmark price 鈥� the average price for a 鈥渢ypical鈥� 91原创 home 鈥� was $1.65 million in May, a 5.5 per cent increase year-over-year, and 0.4 per cent up from April.

Townhouses were going for $874,400, 5.8 per cent more than in the same month in 2023, and 0.8 per cent higher than in April.

Condos sold for $619,700, 6.3 per cent more than last May, and down 0.1 per cent from April.

On Wednesday, May 5, the Bank of Canada lowered the prime lending rate for the first time since the pandemic, down 0.25 points to 4.75 per cent.

Lower rates may change the housing market, as many people were waiting for rates to drop, said Rosa-Anna DeMichina, a mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centre.

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The amount they save will not be staggering 鈥� for every 0.25 per cent cut in interest rates, people save $15 per $100,000 of a mortgage, she noted. Most forecasters are expecting a total 0.75 per cent drop in rates this year, including Wednesday鈥檚 cut.

DeMichina said that by this time next year, the rate for a five-year fixed rate mortgage might have dropped back down to about 4.5 per cent. The big banks in Canada are currently offering that type of mortgage for over six per cent.

But she warned that, as has happened before, when interest rates drop, home prices may start going back up again.

She advised people to buy a home they can afford when it鈥檚 the right time for them.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 hold off for a quarter percent rate drop, you buy when it鈥檚 convenient for you,鈥� said DeMichina.

Despite the significant increase in homes on the market and relatively tepid sales, the FVREB considers the current housing market balanced, neither a buyers market nor a sellers market.