2024 Ends with a Balanced Market and a Positive Outlook
The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 7,489 unit sales (all property types) in 2024 compared to 7,297 in 2023 and 7,810 in 2022. December 2024 saw unit sales of 443 (all property types) and 2,883 active listings.
In the single-family category (excluding acreage and waterfront), 227 homes sold in December, up 52 percent from one year ago and down 15 percent from November. Sales of condo apartments last month came in at 44, increasing by 16 percent year over year and down 29 percent from November. In the row/townhouse category, 58 units changed hands in December, up 49 percent from one year ago and down 24 percent from November.
Active listings of single-family homes were 829 in December, up from the 796 posted one year ago. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments was 271 last month, up from 257 in December 2023. There were 195 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 244 the previous year.
VIREB CEO Jason Yochim reports that REALTORS® are feeling optimistic about 2025, with many clients stating they plan to buy or sell this year.
“Midway through 2024, VIREB’s housing market was fairly lacklustre, but it picked up steam later in the year,” says Yochim. “Our market remains balanced, indicated by an absorption rate of 15 percent, which benefits buyers and sellers.”
However, Yochim adds that with only six-and-a-half months of inventory, VIREB could be heading towards a buyers’ market, particularly if listings continue the downward trend seen in December.
Benchmark Price
Moving on to prices, the board-wide benchmark price (MLS® Home Price Index) of a single-family home was $776,500 in December 2024, up three per cent from one year ago. In the apartment category, the benchmark price was $395,700 last month, down one percent from the previous December. The benchmark price of a townhouse in December was $547,000, up two percent from one year ago.
- Nanaimo’s year-over-year benchmark price rose by four percent to $819,000.
- In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home was $693,400 last month, up five percent from the previous year.
- The Comox Valley’s year-over-year benchmark price rose by three percent to $834,500.
- In the Cowichan Valley, the benchmark price was $762,800, down one percent from December 2023.
- The Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price increase by four percent to $886,300.
- The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni was $511,000, up one percent from the previous year.
- For the North Island, the benchmark price of a single-family home rose by six percent to $448,400.
Looking ahead to 2025, the British Columbia Real Estate Association projects sales in the VIREB area to be around 7,900 this year. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the air due to tariff threats made by the incoming American administration. While British Columbia is less dependent on the United States than the rest of Canada (exports of 50 percent compared to 75 percent), a 25 percent tariff would significantly impact the Canadian economy.
December 2024 Real Estate Market Statistics
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Source: VIREB