Home sales register a strong finish to cap off 2024
Looking back at 2024's Metro Vancouver housing market data, we saw a real shift in momentum. Sure, we didn't quite hit our sales targets for the full year, but check out December - sales jumped a solid 31.2% compared to December 2023. Pretty decent way to close out the year, right? The total number of homes that changed hands in 2024 came in at 26,561, which is just a hair above 2023's 26,249. Not breaking any records, mind you - it's actually about 21% below what we usually see in a 10-year average. But here's where it gets interesting: December's numbers are hinting at some real strength building up in the market. Price-wise, it's been a bit of a mixed bag. The benchmark price across all types of homes is sitting at $1,171,500. Year-over-year, that's up half a percent, though it dipped slightly (0.1%) from November. Breaking it down: - Detached homes are holding strong at $1,997,000 (up 2% from last year) - Townhouses hit $1,114,600 (up 3.4% year-over-year) - Apartments basically stayed flat at $749,900 What's really catching my eye is the sales-to-listings ratio - we're at 16.8% overall, with townhouses leading the pack at 23.6%. That's getting into seller's market territory in some segments. With borrowing costs finally trending down, buyers who've been sitting on the sidelines are starting to jump back in. Supply isn't too tight either - we've got about 25% more listings than the 10-year average, so there's decent choice out there. Looking ahead to 2025, the market's showing signs it could be quite a bit more active than what we've seen lately. These December numbers aren't just a blip - they're building on momentum we've been seeing for a few months now.