Real estate sales in 91原创 continued to boom despite high unemployment in B.C. and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sales of detached houses were up 51.1 per cent in August compared to the same month last year, according to statistics released Wednesday, Sept. 2 by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

91原创 saw 133 detached houses change hands in a month, a slight increase from the 129 that were sold in July.

Townhouse sales were up as well, with 96 selling in August, a 21.5 per cent increase on year-over-year sales. But those numbers were down from the 132 townhouses that sold in July.

In condos, 100 units changed hands last month, a 53.8 per cent increase from the same month in 2019, but down 16 per cent from the 119 that sold in July.

Prices rose for all three categories of housing.

The benchmark price for a detached house in 91原创 stayed just above $1 million, an 8.7 per cent increase from prices a year ago, when the market was just starting to come out of a slump.

The benchmark for a townhouse was $576,200 and for a condo it was $400,900.

The benchmark price measures the price of a 鈥渢ypical鈥� home of that type in 91原创, but average prices, which have been relatively close to the benchmark over the last year, started to go up faster.

The average price for a 91原创 detached house hit $1.125 million last month, a 15.7 per cent increase on the $972,909 sale price of a year ago. Townhouse averages were up 6.3 pear cent and condos were up 9.8 per cent year over year.

Regionally, the sales numbers the FVREB zone were the second-highest for property sales in August over the last 20 years.

Overall, the 2,039 sales from North Delta to Abbotsford were a 57.2 per cent increase over August of last year.

鈥淚n an unusual situation given the pandemic, we remain cautiously optimistic and are encouraged by the numbers we are seeing,鈥� said Chris Shields, president of the FVREB.

New listings of homes for sale were also up in August, a 40.4 per cent increase compared to last year, but not enough to keep pace with the increase in sales.

The pace of sales is now well into 鈥渟ellers market鈥� territory, according to board statistics.