Langley Real Estate Market Trends and Forecast

Two Langleys

The Township is large and varied: Willoughby and Yorkson with their new townhomes and condos, Walnut Grove and Murrayville with established family streets, Brookswood with big lots and tall trees, Fort Langley with heritage and the river, and the farmland that fills the rest. The City is the small municipality around 200 Street and Fraser Highway, with older apartments, a downtown that is about to get a SkyTrain terminus, and some of the most affordable condos in the region. When a report says Langley is up or down, ask which one.

What drives the market

• Supply. Willoughby has produced more townhomes than any other neighbourhood in the Valley, and the pace of new completions is the main reason Langley prices move differently from South Surrey's. When several phases complete at once, resale townhomes compete with new ones and the market softens. When the pipeline slows, it tightens.
• The SkyTrain. The Surrey Langley line ends at 203 Street in Langley City with a station at 196 Street in Willoughby. It has already changed land values along Fraser Highway and in the City's downtown, and it will keep changing them as opening day approaches.
• The commute. Highway 1 and the Golden Ears Bridge make Langley the natural home for people working in Surrey, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford. For downtown Vancouver commuters it is a stretch, and that caps demand from that group.
• Rates. Langley's buyers are younger and more leveraged on average than White Rock's, so the market responds faster to rate changes in both directions.

How to read the monthly numbers

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board publishes Langley separately from South Surrey White Rock. Look at months of inventory by property type, because townhomes and detached homes in Langley often tell different stories in the same month. Look at the benchmark price trend over twelve months rather than one. And look at new listings, which spike when a presale phase completes and investors list their units. One month does not make a trend in a market this supply-driven.

For buyers

• In Willoughby, compare the resale complex with the presale across the street. Newer is not always better value once the strata documents are on the table.
• In Walnut Grove, Murrayville and Brookswood, inspect for the era: 1990s roofs and windows, Poly-B plumbing, septic on some Brookswood lots.
• In Langley City, buy near the future station in a building with a history, and expect construction around you for years.
• Everywhere: test the commute at the real time of day.

For sellers

Know your competition, which in Willoughby includes the developer down the road with a sales centre and incentives. Price to the last ninety days of resales in your specific complex or street, present the home properly, and launch when the new-phase listings are not flooding the market if you have any choice about timing. In the established neighbourhoods, the buyer is usually a family trading up from a townhome, so the school catchment and the yard sell the house.

The short version

• Township and City are different markets. Willoughby's new supply drives most of the Township's price moves.
• The SkyTrain is reshaping Fraser Highway and Langley City's downtown.
• Read FVREB's Langley numbers by property type over twelve months, not one.
• Buyers: compare resale with presale and inspect for the era. Sellers: know the developer competition.

I sell in Langley as well as on the Peninsula. If you want this month's Langley numbers read for your specific neighbourhood, send me a note.