SURREY, BC – Bank of Canada interest rate cuts that began mid-year were not enough to ease the affordability crisis for many home buyers in the Fraser Valley in 2024, leading to a decline in annual sales.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported new listings of 35,698 for the year ended December 31, 2024, a 10-year high and nine per cent above the 10-year average. However, annual sales recorded on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) were the lowest seen in ten years at 14,570, a decline of one per cent over 2023 and 24 per cent below the 10-year average. The City of Surrey accounted for the majority of 2024 sales at 51 per cent, with Langley and Abbotsford accounting for 24 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

“2024 marked another subdued year for Fraser Valley home sales on the heels of a ten-year low in 2023,” said Jeff Chadha, Chair of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Slight declines in home prices across some areas of the region provided negligible relief for buyers looking to get into the market. At the same time, the modest price adjustments did not discourage sellers from listing.”

The composite Benchmark home price in the Fraser Valley closed the year at $965,000, down two per cent year-over-year, and down four per cent from its 2024 peak in March.

December 2024

The Board recorded 994 sales on its MLS® in December, a decline of 13 per cent from November, but 19 per cent above sales from December 2023.

New listings declined 46 per cent from November to December, from 2,367 to 1,288, contributing to a 23 per cent decline in overall inventory in December. With a sales-to-active listings ratio of 16 per cent in December, the overall market closed out the year in balance. The market is considered balanced when the ratio is between 12 per cent and 20 per cent.

“While the Fraser Valley saw overall balanced market conditions for most of 2024, the low levels of buying and selling activity reflected a challenging year for many as would-be buyers waited for affordability to improve,” said Baldev Gill, CEO of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada along with recent government policies aimed at boosting overall housing supply and improving affordability, should help to increase market conditions in 2025.”

It took longer to sell townhomes and condos in December compared to November. Townhomes spent 36 days on the market, up from 33 days in November, while condos spent 38 days on the market, up from 36 days in the previous month. Single-family homes spent 43 days on the market — no change from November.

The composite Benchmark home price in the Fraser Valley continued to slide for the ninth straight month, down 0.5 per cent compared to November.

MLS® HPI Benchmark Price Activity

• Single Family Detached: At $1,480,400, the Benchmark price for an FVREB single-family detached home decreased 0.1 per cent compared to November 2024 and increased 0.9 per cent compared to December 2023. 

• Townhomes: At $827,900, the Benchmark price for an FVREB townhome decreased 0.9 per cent compared to November 2024 and increased 0.3 per cent compared to December 2023. 

• Apartments: At $533,900, the Benchmark price for an FVREB apartment/condo decreased 0.4 per cent compared to November 2024 and decreased 0.2 per cent compared to December 2023.

VANCOUVER, BC – January 3, 2025 – 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.

Last year’s sales total was 20.9 per cent below the 10-year annual sales average (33,559).

“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.”

Properties listed on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver totalled 60,388 in 2024. This represents an 18.7 per cent increase compared to the 50,894 properties listed in 2023. This was 9.7 per cent above the 55,047 properties listed in 2022.

The total number of properties listed last year was 5.7 per cent above the region’s 10-year annual average (57,136).

Currently, the total number of homes listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 10,948, a 24.4 per cent increase compared to December 2024 (8,802). This total is also 25.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (8,737).

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.

“Disappointingly, sales came in shy of our forecasted target for the year, but the December figures signal an emerging pattern of strength in home sales, building on the momentum seen in previous months,” Lis said. “These more recent sales figures are now trending back towards long-term historical averages, which suggests there may still be quite a bit of potential upside for sales as we head into 2025, should the recent strength continue.

“Although sales activity had a slower start to the year, price trends began 2024 on the rise and closed out the year on a flatter trajectory. Most market segments saw year-over-year increases of a few per cent except for apartment units, which ended 2024 roughly flat. With the data showing renewed strength to finish the year however, it looks as though the 2025 market is positioned to be considerably more active than we’ve seen in recent years.”

December 2024 summary

Residential sales in the region totalled 1,765 in December 2024, a 31.2 per cent increase from the 1,345 sales recorded in December 2023. This was 14.9 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (2,074) for the month.

There were 1,676 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver in December 2024. This represents a 26.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,327 properties listed in December 2023. This was 1.1 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (1,695).

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.

Analysis of the historical data suggests downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

Sales of detached homes in December 2024 reached 494, a 31.4 per cent increase from the 376 detached sales recorded in December 2023. The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,997,000. This represents a two per cent increase from December 2023 and is nearly unchanged compared to November 2024.

Sales of apartment homes reached 891 in December 2024, a 23.9 per cent increase compared to the 719 sales in December 2024. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $749,900. This represents a 0.1 per cent decrease from December 2023 and a 0.4 per cent decrease compared to November 2024.

Attached home sales in December 2024 totalled 371, a 55.9 per cent increase compared to the 238 sales in December 2024. The benchmark price of a townhouse is $1,114,600. This represents a 3.4 per cent increase from December 2023 and a 0.3 per cent decrease compared to November 2024.