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I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are feeling refreshed for 2025! The real estate market in 2024 was slow, with sales down 20.9% compared to the 10-year average.Throughout most of the year, monthly sales figures hovered around 20% below the 10-year average, but activity started to pick up in October. December followed a similar trend to November. While sales figures compared to the previous year show an impressive 30% increase, the bigger picture reveals they were still 14.9% below the 10-year average. The sales-to-active listings ratio, a key indicator of supply and demand, stayed relatively unchanged across all property categories. This ratio reflects how balanced the market is: the lower the number, the weaker the demand. For prices to rise, the ratio

Welcome to the November 2024 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Market Update. While the reported 28% year-over-year increase in sales might suggest a strong market, if you look into the 10-year averages it reveals a more balanced landscape.The sales were 12.8% below the 10-year average. It was 5.5% below last month, so the sales actually slowed down a bit. Similarly, the new listings were 5.4% above the 10-year average while it was 20% above the month before. This reduction in new listing balanced out the slower sales. As a result, the total inventory is 26.1% above the 10-year , almost unchanged from last month’s 26.2%. Sales-to-active listings ratios, which measure supply and demand, saw little change. Ratios between 12% and 20% indicate a balanced market, while

As if AirBnB owners don’t have enough bad news, there is a new tax to pay! It turns out there is a little-known tax rule that can lead to a significant one-time GST and provincial tax hit when converting a short-term rental unit into a long-term rental! For a property valued at $1,000,000, this can mean a tax bill of $120,000. And if you think you can sidestep this by selling the unit, think again. Unfortunately, this tax applies in that case too. Here’s why: the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) treats long-term rentals as “residential use” and short-term rentals as “commercial use.” This means that anytime a property shifts from commercial to residential use, this tax may be triggered. So, for owners in areas where

Welcome to your review of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market for October. Last month brought significant movement in Metro Vancouver’s real estate market. New listings continued to pour in, pushing total inventory to a level 26.2% above the 10-year average.The inventory would have been even higher if not for the pick up in sales activity. Sales, which had been 26% below the 10-year average, recovered to just 5.5% below the average—a notable turnaround. This rebound in sales has reversed the downward trend of the sales-to-active listings ratio, which had been declining for the past six months. This ratio is a measure of relative demand. The higher it is, the greater the relative demand. This ratio increased across all property types, signaling a potential stabilization—or even

The conversation around affordable housing is often simplified to one issue: we’re not building enough. The assumption is that if we build more, the problem will be solved. But the real question is, who is supposed to build it? Right now, many people aren’t buying what’s being built, and some projects are being pulled entirely. Developers are feeling the strain, with some even facing foreclosure. A recent survey by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association showed negative sentiment for eight consecutive quarters, with most members attributing it to high interest rates. In fact, 61% of builders plan to construct fewer homes in 2024 than in 2023, with many slashing their estimates by half. At the same time, report after report highlights the number of housing units that

The Canadian economy is weakening, and that’s why interest rates are being lowered. While this may be good news for homeowners hoping for a break on their variable-rate mortgage payments, it’s adding financial pressure for many. Canada is already one of the most indebted countries in the world and the rise in unemployment is making matters worse. Although part of the unemployment increase can be attributed to more people entering the job market, the fact remains that more individuals are losing their jobs. Despite alarming headlines about rising credit delinquencies, the actual numbers remain low compared to other countries and our own historical standards. This may not pose a serious threat to the overall economy, but for those affected, it’s a personal crisis. Unmanaged debt

Welcome to the review of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market for August. I hope everyone enjoyed their Labour Day long weekend. Sales activity remained slow in August, coming in 26% below the 10-year seasonal average. However, new listings also slowed, so the total inventory remained relatively unchanged from last month, sitting at 20.8% above the 10-year average. The sales-to-active listings ratio for all categories dropped again month over month. The sales-to-active listings ratio is a measure of supply and demand. Falling ratios indicate downward pressure on prices. As you can see from the table below, prices have been decreasing in all categories over the past few months, though the decline seems to be slowing compared to the previous month. The Bank of Canada recently lowered

Welcome to the review of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market for July. I hope everyone in BC enjoyed their BC Day long weekend. Real estate sales continue to be weak in an environment of increasing inventory. However, the sales numbers actually improved over last month on a 10-year seasonal basis. While June was 23.6% below the 10-year seasonal average, July was only 17.6% below. Despite this improvement, inventory is building faster than sales. As a result, the total number of properties listed for sale increased from 20.3% above the 10-year seasonal average to 21.5% above. Inventory is now 39.1% higher than in July of last year. This increase in inventory has led to a drop in both the sales-to-active listings ratio and the benchmark price

Did you know that starting August 1, 2024, lenders in Canada will be able to offer 30-year amortizations for insured mortgages to first-time home buyers purchasing a new build? This change is part of a government initiative to help Canadians with less than a 20% down payment buy a home. Insured mortgages allow buyers to put down less than 20% of the purchase price by paying an insurance premium that covers losses in case of mortgage default. Will This New Program Impact the Market and Help You Qualify?This new program is specifically designed for certain buyers and sellers. To qualify, the property’s price must be under one million dollars, which can be limiting in markets like Vancouver. Additionally, pre-sale condo purchases typically require a 15%