Metro Vancouver home sales climbed over 30 per cent in December from the previous year, Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) reports.

“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, in a press release.

“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.” 

2024 summary: Sales, inventory and prices

The region’s residential sales totalled 26,561 for the year. This was 20.9 per cent below the 10-year annual sales average, 1.2 per cent above the 26,249 sales in 2023 and 9.2 per cent below the 29,261 sales in 2022.

There were 60,388 properties listed on MLS in Metro Vancouver last year. This was 5.7 per cent above the region’s 10-year annual average, 18.7 per cent above the 50,894 properties listed in 2023 and 9.7 per cent above the 55,047 properties listed in 2022.

There are currently 10,948 properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver, 24.4 per cent above December 2024 and 25.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. 

The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,171,500, 0.5 per cent more than December 2023 and 0.1 per cent less than November 2024. 

Total sales short of target but 2025 well-positioned

“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.”

Lis explained that although sales activity had a slower start to the year, price trends were rising at the start of last year and closed the year on a flatter trajectory. While most market segments saw year-over-year increases of a few per cent, he said it appears the 2025 market is positioned to be “considerably more active than we’ve seen in recent years.”

December summary

Last month, the region’s residential sales totalled 1,765, a 31.2 per cent increase from December 2023 and 14.9 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. 

There were 1,676 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale in Metro Vancouver, 26.3 per cent more than in December 2023 and 1.1 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for December 2024 was 16.8 per cent (12.1 per cent for detached homes, 23.6 per cent for attached homes and 18.7 per cent for apartment homes).

By property type

Detached home sales in December 2024 reached 494, 31.4 per cent more than in December 2023. The benchmark price for a detached home was $1,997,000, a 2.0 per cent increase from December 2023 and nearly unchanged from November 2024. 

Apartment home sales in December 2024 reached 891, 23.9 per cent more than in December 2023. The benchmark price of an apartment home was $749,900, a 0.1 per cent decrease from December 2023 and 0.4 per cent less than November 2024. 

Attached home sales in December 2024 totalled 371, 55.9 per cent more than in December 2023. The benchmark price of a townhouse was $1,114,600, a 3.4 per cent increase from December 2023 and 0.3 per cent less than November 2024. 

Review the full report here.