For investors poking around B.C.’s Fraser Valley, skyrocketing prices for detached homes may be off-putting, but one expert says with condo prices remaining stable, there are still plenty of positive cash flow properties to be found.
“I can find lots of positive cash flow in the Abbotsford area where the rent and the price start to work in the favour of the investor,” Randy Dyck, an agent with the Eximus Real Estate Team at RE/MAX Little Oak Realty told CREW.
Prices in the Fraser Valley are up about 10 per cent for the overall market, but it’s the detached market that has moved up the most, he says.
The average detached-house price in the South Surrey-White Rock market, for example is now just over $1 million, up 16.6 per cent from a year ago, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. In the last month, the area’s typical house price has increased by nearly $30,000.
Lack of inventory is what’s driving up prices for singe-family homes, along with increased demand, says Dyck. He uses Langley, the area’s most active market, as an example. In September 2012 there were 641 detached homes on the market with sales of 66 homes. In contrast, in September 2015 there were sales of 130 homes with only 215 listings.
This trend has really helped the investor market, particularly the condominium market, according to Dyck.
“What was $190,000 five years ago can be bought now for $165,000 and rents are actually higher now,” he says. “With rates are so low, now is a great time buy that condo and lock it up for five years and let it work.”
Dyck says condos in areas like Abbotsford and in some parts of Surrey are turning positive cash flows of up to $200 a month for clients.
