Commuting from Vancouver to a home in the Fraser Valley can save a homeowner about $14,000 for every minute driving, says an Abbotsford realtor.
The median price of an Abbotsford detached house is $400,000 and a typical condo sells for $155,000, among the lowest prices in the Lower Mainland, and about $140,000 less than in neighbouring Langley, according to Paul Penner, manager of Re/Max Little Oak Realty and the former president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Penner’s staff crunched the numbers and reckon that, based on travelling times and prices. “ The 25-minute increase in drive time from Surrey to Abbotsford equates to a savings of $5,028 per minute and the 10-minute increase from Langley City could save the buyer a whopping $14,260 per minute behind the wheel,” Penner said.
After a slow down in late 2011, Abbotsford detached housing sales jumped 18 per cent in February, perhaps due to home buyers doing their own math, especially for higher-end homes. “You can buy an executive-style house in a premier community, like Eagle Mountain, for around $700,000,” Penner said, noting a similar house in Metro Vancouver would easily run to more than $1.5 million.
