Happy 2025 everyone! I hope your year has been off to a good start. I just got back from a quick trip to Mexico, it was great to feel the sun again and now I’m off and running to start the year.
Interest rates dropped 50points in December, putting the policy rate at 3.25%, down from 5% at the start of 2024. The next interest rate announcement is January 29th and there is expectation of another small drop.
The market is December saw a little increase in activity compared to November. I attribute this to some Buyers desire to buy before the new year, both in thinking the market is slow and also wanting to buy now before their search extends into the Spring. Nice to see some listings off the market to make room for new inventory this Spring. Overall we saw a lot of listings come off the market so expect some re-lists this month.
It is the 2nd week of January and there was already a nice influx of interesting listings with quite a few more planned for this coming week (once everyone is back from their vacation!). Expect to see inventory increase through to June and a lot of people making a move to upgrade or downgrade. There is a lot of positivity in the market and so I think we’ll see some increase in price, but I think it will be market dependent – likely slower for condos and a little faster for entry level family sized homes. Vancouver will increase in activity and price quicker than the ‘burbs nearby but overall it should be an exciting year compared to the last few.
Here’s a snippet from the Real Estate Board’s Monthly Update:
Home sales registered on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver rose over thirty per cent in December, compared to the previous year, signalling strengthening demand-side momentum to close out 2024.
The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) reports that residential sales in the region totalled 26,561 in 2024, a 1.2 per cent increase from the 26,249 sales recorded in 2023, and a 9.2 per cent decrease from the 29,261 sales in 2022.
“Looking back on 2024, it could best be described as a pivot year for the market after experiencing such dramatic increases in mortgage rates in the preceding years,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “With borrowing costs now firmly on the decline, buyers have started to show up in numbers after somewhat of a hiatus – and this renewed strength is now clearly visible in the more recent monthly data.”
Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for December 2024 is 16.8 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 12.1 per cent for detached homes, 23.6 per cent for attached, and 18.7 per cent for apartments.
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,171,500. This represents a 0.5 per cent increase over December 2023 and a 0.1 per cent decrease compared to November 2024.
Onto the stats:
Vancouver West Real Estate Stats up to and including December 2024
Inventory, new listings and sales dropped this month, as expected. the sales to active ratio remained pretty steady: 18% for 1 bedrooms, 15% for 2 bedrooms, 14% for townhouses snd 9% for houses. Prices remained steady this month overall, but this market is not as busy as the Eastside.
HPI Price for Vancouver West
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price for Vancouver West
Median Percentage of Original Price for Vancouver West
New Listings for Vancouver West
Total Inventory for Vancouver West
Total Sales for Vancouver West
Sales to Active Ratio for Vancouver West
Median Days on Market for Vancouver West
East Vancouver Real Estate Stats up to and including December 2024
Inventory and new listings dropped significantly this month while sales dropped slightly as well. The sales to active ratio for 1 bed condos was 33% and for 2 bed condos was 27% – really high for this time of year. Townhouses were at 18% and detached houses were at 13%. Prices remained steady.
HPI Price for East Vancouver
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price for East Vancouver
Median Percentage of Original Price for East Vancouver
New Listings for East Vancouver
Total Inventory for East Vancouver
Total Sales for East Vancouver
Sales to Active Ratio for East Vancouver
Median Days on Market for East Vancouver
As always, if you have questions on a particular kind of property or neighbourhood, get in touch with me!
And if you’re thinking about selling your property, give me a call to chat about value, pricing strategy and the sale process. There are plenty of details to chat about – including timing, value, staging and your potential purchase – so don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to get started kristi@realestatevancity.ca or 778-387-7371. The better you understand your current value and what Buyers may be looking for, the more successful your sale.