Hi, it's Cari Mai, and this is your Vancouver real estate market update for January 2024. Happy New Year!
Thanks to everyone who has followed and supported this channel. In today's video, I'll chat about Greater Vancouver's market performance last year in retrospect, last month's performance in December 2023, and what to expect moving forward in 2024.
So 2023 closed out relatively strong despite having some of the highest borrowing costs seen in over a decade. And remember in late 2022 when media outlets were predicting that prices nationwide will decrease in 2023?
Well, homebuyers and sellers in Vancouver believe the media and as a result, home sellers were reluctant to sell it early in 2023, which led to fewer sales and record low inventory in the spring.
But all that did was create upward pressure on prices as homebuyers competed for the few homes that were available for sale at the time. At the end of 2023, we saw home sales volume drop over 10 percent when compared to 2022, and when compared to 2021, a drop of over 41%. I know it sounds negative, but by the end of the year, the Greater Vancouver Market actually saw a very modest price increase of 5 percent across all home types and market segments on average.
The Greater Vancouver region remains a very attractive and desirable destination for homebuyers. High borrowing costs and the media were not enough to dissuade buyers determined to get into the housing market last year. When specifically looking at last month's performance across Greater Vancouver, we saw home sales increase 3. 2 percent when compared with December 2022, which is a decrease of 36. 4 percent from the 10 year home sales average in the region.
We saw 10 percent more new listings hit the market last month when compared with December 2022.
It just sounds like a lot more homes are piling up on the market when really, We're now in line with the 10 year average of total homes on the market for sale. Back to normal levels of homes available for sale now. The MLS benchmark price for all home types across Greater Vancouver is $1, 168, 700. Overall, home prices are still up 5 percent from December 2022, and we saw a tiny dip of 1. 4 percent from November of 2023.
Moving into 2024 and onwards, economists say it may not be the greatest year for affordability as there are a lot of homebuyers on the sidelines right now.
Once there's more certainty that rates are holding stable or dropping, we anticipate seeing more buyers coming back into the market to buy a home and in turn, see an increase in home prices.
BC property assessments came out early January and residential homes throughout British Columbia seem to have stabilized in value. Commercial and industrial properties, on the other hand, are seeing higher value increases due to the shortage of land for such use.
Though we see price stabilization for 2024 in the BC assessment, we also need to consider the lack of new development and available housing that could contribute to less affordability in British Columbia.
How much longer can home prices stay flat? I think you know the answer, but let me know in the comments below. And there you have it. That's your first Vancouver real estate market update for 2024. If you have any questions or need any guidance navigating this market, I'm just a message away.
Until next time, stay warm and stay tuned for more real estate news. Bye for now!
