B.C. real estate sales off to a stronger start in January 2025

Stronger start in 2025

Photo: The Canadian Press

The downtown Vancouver skyline is seen in the distance beyond houses in Burnaby, B.C., July 12, 2023.  

Real estate sales across British Columbia were up in January compared with the year before, but average prices went down slightly.

The B.C. Real Estate Association says in a statement that the 4,221 residential sales in January were up 6.4 per cent from January 2024, although unit sales were 12 per cent below the 10-year average.

The association's chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says an increase in both sales and listings may foreshadow a stronger year, with a caution that global uncertainties might trigger higher or lower rates from the Bank of Canada.

Active listings jumped by 27 per cent to almost 31,000, in what the association says is a normalization of trends for homes being placed on the market.

The statement says it will be crucial for supply to keep pace with growing demand to see markets balanced and prevent a rampant price increase.

The average residential price on the Multiple Listing Service in B.C. last month was down about one per cent to $949,560 from $959,191 in January last year.

Here are some of the average sale prices around the province:

Northern B.C.— $396,187, up 3.4 per cent

Chilliwack — $694,700, down 3.7 per cent

Greater Vancouver — $1,208,415, down 3.7 per cent

Okanagan — $736,479, up 2.7 per cent

Kamloops — $536,082, down 3.8 per cent

Kootenay — $505,729, up nine per cent

South Peace River — $281,028, up 30.5 per cent

Vancouver Island — $722,305, up 11.4 per cent

Victoria — $986,258, up 5.3 per cent