Greater Vancouver home sales saw a significant increase of 31.2% year-over-year this past December, capping what many realtors have termed as a "pivot year" for the market. The latest statistics reveal 1,765 homes sold last month, still 14.9% below the 10-year seasonal average for December, according to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board.
The board reported 1,676 newly listed properties for December, marking a 26.3% rise from December 2023. The composite benchmark price for homes reached $1,171,500, which is 0.5% higher than the previous year but just 0.1% lower than the November price. "Although sales activity had a slower start to the year, price trends began 2024 on the rise and closed out the year on a flattertrajectory," remarked Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics.
Interestingly, the property market's performance aligns with recent findings from BC Assessment. Their latest property assessments reflected relatively flat values compared to the previous year, with fluctuations remaining within the range of plus or minus 3% across most communities, including major urban areas such as Vancouver, Victoria, and Kelowna. Specifically, average residential prices saw slight declines, with Vancouver's prices down 0.8%, Victoria's by 2%, and Kelowna's by 2.9%.
For the entire year of 2024, the Vancouver-area home sales edged up by 1.2% from the previous year, totaling 26,561 transactions but still falling 20.9% below the 10-year annual sales average. The real estate board noted there were 60,388 properties listed throughout Metro Vancouver, which was 18.7% more compared to 2023 and 5.7% above the region’s 10-year annual average. With 10,948 homes available for sale at year-end, the amount represented a 24.4% increase compared to December 2024.
Andrew Lis commented on the market's recovery, stating, "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. 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."
Meanwhile, homeowners throughout the Tri-Cities region can now find out how much their property value has changed over the past year by visiting the BC Assessment website. These assessments, conducted as of July 1, 2024, will determine property taxes for the following year, with notifications being mailed out to homeowners this week.
Overall, homeowners across the Lower Mainland can expect slight fluctuations from last year, anticipated to be between -5 and +5%. Among the Tri-Cities, Port Coquitlam saw the largest increase. Specifically, single-family home prices have risen, with Coquitlam moving from $1,722,000 to $1,738,000 (up 1%), Port Coquitlam appreciating from $1,391,000 to $1,416,000 (up 2%), and Port Moody increasing from $1,824,000 to $1,851,000 (up 1%). Other notable increases were observed in Anmore and Belcarra, both rising by 1% to $2,575,000 and $2,074,000, respectively.
"It is important to understand... how your assessment changes relative to the average change in your community is what may affect your property taxes," stated Bryan Murao, assessor at BC Assessment. This clarifies the common misconception among homeowners about the direct correlation between property assessments and property taxes.
Regarding the property tax situation for 2025, Coquitlam will see a property tax and utility lift of 6.83%, Port Moody is proposing a 6.2% increase for taxes and utilities, and Port Coquitlam is planning to raise property taxes by 4.3%.
Lastly, the report highlighted the top 20 properties within the Tri-Cities with the highest assessments for 2025. Notably, 277 Turtlehead Rd. in Belcarra holds the highest valuation at $16,128,000. Other high-value properties are scattered across Belcarra, Anmore, and Coquitlam, emphasizing the continued desirability of these areas.
With these statistics and assessments signaling trends of resilience and adaptation, the British Columbia real estate market appears poised for continued activity going forward.