Surrey and Langley’s Housing Market show Growth and Resiliency 

2024 looks promising in key real estate markets: 

As 2023 draws to an end, we look back at a year that saw the Bank of Canada increase its key interest rate seven times, triggering a cool down throughout the province’s housing market. However, industry experts are predicting a rosier outlook for some of Metro Vancouver’s municipalities heading into 2024. 

According to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, the whole region saw declining home sales throughout the year, much of which it was attributed to a combination of seasonal patterns and interest rate uncertainty. But there is good news on the horizon. 

Surrey & Langley’s home values show signs of growth: 

Surrey, one of Canada’s fastest growing municipalities, has experienced appreciating growth year-to-year. Although its benchmark values are still 8.5% below their April 2022 peak, Surrey’s housing market over 2021 and 2022 fuelled growing demand from both investors and end-users. Despite condo prices declining 3.3% over the past three months, Surrey’s location, affordability, development incentives, and economic expansion continues to encourage interest. 

There is much reason for optimism in Langley. With its relative housing affordability, solid highway connectivity, transit infrastructure, numerous thriving communities and multi-family new offerings, Langley has enabled to retain its near-peak values, positioning the municipality as one of the better performing markets in the area. 

Property Values Thrive near Transit: 

Another predictor of housing appreciation are those transit-oriented communities. As the pool of young talent and families move into outlying suburban cities like Surrey and Langley, there is increased demand to create complete neighbourhoods with convenient access to quality employment, schools, services, and other community amenities, such as sky train and transit. 

Data shows that home buyers in Metro Vancouver are willing to pay for the premium of being within close walking distance from a sky train station. 

Developers such as Surrey-based Jayen Properties has long understood the value prospective home buyers/investors place on transit and walkability. Sukhi Rai, founder and CEO of Jayen Properties, says a key selling point of its newest multi-family project, Park & Maven, is its close proximity to two upcoming train lines. Park & Maven is situated within less than a 10 minute walk to the Clayton Station at 190th Street and Willowbrook Station at 196th Street- both of which will offer convenient rapid transit sky train. 

Situated on the crossroads of Surrey/Langley, in the heart of Langley’s vibrant Willowbrook neighbourhood, Jayen Properties is transforming a 15-acre former golf course into a community, which will be home to 650 residences when completely built out. 

Construction of the new Rapid Transit Expansion South of the Fraser expected to begin in 2024: 

The province, along with the federal government, has invested heavily in the upcoming line up of eight new sky train stations and three major transit exchanges. Expected to begin construction sometime next year, commuters will be able to travel from Langley to Vancouver in under one hour. 

According to the provincial government, this is the first expansion of rapid transit south of the Fraser River in more than three decades. The 16-kilometre fully grid extension of the Expo Line will run from King George Station in Surrey to Langley City Centre, and is estimated to complete in late 2028. The project will provide high-quality and low-cost transportation for tens of thousands of people throughout Surrey and Langley. 

The BC Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Rob Flemming, along with federal, provincial and local government representatives, recently announced the names of the eight new TransLink Surrey-to-Langley sky train stations: Green Timbers Station (140 Street and Fraser Highway), 152 Street Station (152 Street and Fraser Highway), Fleetwood Station (160 Street and Fraser Highway), Bakerview-166 Street Station (166 Street and Fraser Highway), Hillcrest-184 Street Station (184 Street and Fraser Highway), Clayton Station (190 Street and Fraser Highway), Willowbrook Station (196 Street and Fraser Highway), and Langley City Centre Station (203 Street and Fraser Highway). 

In a written statement to the press, Fleming went on to say: “The Surrey Langley sky train is going to transform the way people live, work and travel both south of the Fraser and around the region. The stations we are naming today will become community landmarks and will be recognized for decades to come.”