Eastern Fraser Valley real estate sales tanked last month, prices inched down
While number of units sold dropped heavily year over year, current average price can't get much lower already $200k under neighbouring real estate board
July 14, 2026
After the weather, real estate is right up there in popularity in the realm of middle-class small talk.
So, how’s the market?
Short answer: Not good. Longer answer, from the real estate industry: Not great, but _____ [fill in the blank with “sales are turning a corner” or “it’s a buyer’s market” or “bad times are behind us, things are picking up.”]
A year ago, things were also pretty slow, but those earning a living selling homes were hopeful the market might be getting “back on track to more solid activity” and sales that might be “rounding a corner.”
Statements from the three real estate boards in the Lower Mainland commenting on the rough patch home sales were going through could be summarized thusly:
The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board said that what just happened wasn’t as bad as it was just before that so it might not be long before it’s better than it’s been. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said that for those who are OK with uncertainty, now’s the time to be decisive. The Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board said, the 2025 trend may have finally shifted. Unless it hadn’t.
This is not to make fun of spokespersons for real estate boards. It's understandable they put a positive spin on wherever the market takes us. When prices are high, it's time to sell in a sellers' market. When prices are low, there are opportunities in a buyers' market. In June 2026, the chief economist at the B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) said something equally hopeful if wishy-washy in the association’s monthly news release. If you only read this quote below, you might be surprised to learn that in the Fraser Valley board area, sales were down 3.8 per cent and in Chilliwack they were down 19.7 per cent. This quote of positivity is based on a 0.9 per cent increase in sales across the province thanks to a 9.5 per cent increase in sales in Greater Vancouver, a market that does twice as many sales as the Fraser Valley and 10 times as many as Chilliwack.
“Sales rose year-over-year in June for the first time since September 2025, driven by stronger activity in the Greater Vancouver area,” BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson said. “We hope this marks the beginning of a stronger second half of the year across B.C. housing markets as sales converge to more normal levels following several years of unexpected global shocks.”
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In reality, even the BCREA concedes in the next line that it’s worse in 2026 than it was even in 2025.
Year-to-date, B.C. residential sales dollar volume is down 6.4 per cent to $32 billion, compared with the same period in 2025. Residential unit sales are down 5.4 per cent year-over-year at 33,886 units, while the average MLS residential price is also down 1.1 per cent to $943,249.
As with all economic stories, to say the situations is “good” or “better, ” “bad” or “worse” is relative. There are always winners. Right now, however, it’s not homeowners or real estate agents. And buyers aren’t exactly swooping in to scoop up deals in the Eastern Fraser Valley. While sales in the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board area were down 19.7 per cent from 254 in June 2025 to 204 last month, the average residential selling price of homes of all kinds went from $795,814 in June 2025 to $777,613 in June 2026, a drop of just 2.3 per cent.
The economic reason for that? While home sale prices in Chilliwack might be high from a long-term perspective, geographically the area's prices are still way at the bottom end of the Lower Mainland. The average selling price in Chilliwack a year ago was a shade under $800,000, next door in the Fraser Valley district – Abbotsford all the way to White Rock – the average was $1.034 million. With a 6.6 per cent year-over-year drop, that was down to $966,171 last month, still almost $200,000 more than the average in the small Chilliwack market.
And for the record, in the Greater Vancouver market, no one will be surprised to hear the average selling price last month was $1.25 million, down 2.1 per cent from $1.275 million in June 2025. In BC Northern, to compare, the average price for a home sold last month was a shade under $460,000.
Given all these numbers and continued global uncertainty from increasing inflation, reduced immigration, provincial housing construction edicts, not to overlook the unpredictable Mango Mussolini in the White House, guessing where the market will go is a fool's game.
Video graphic showing change in average single family home price in Chilliwack over the last 20 years
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Paul J. Henderson
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