JANUARY 2025 MARKET UPDATE

SUMMARY – THE MARKET IS SHIFTING (AGAIN)

January continued a trend we saw last year where sellers are listing their properties in healthy numbers and buyers are cautious but active. This results in a slower pace of sales and increasing inventory and has thus far kept price pressure down. Prices remain relatively flat (or very small change) when compared to last year.

With overall economic instability it is understandable why buyers remain cautiously optimistic but waiting to see which way the winds will blow. There are lots of opportunities out there and many buyers are taking advantage of the increased selection. If you are wondering if it is a good time to buy or sell, reach out for a conversation.

Barring any sudden shocks to the system (e.g. tariffs), I still anticipate the upcoming spring market to be more active than last year. Time will tell if I’m right.

SO HOW’S THE MARKET?

Prices in the Fraser Valley remain relatively flat when compared to last year with a slight combined decrease of approximately 2% across all categories. Detached and Townhouses remain mostly flat and a more concentrated decrease in the apartment category (-1.2%). My thinking is this would be related to the higher amount of inventory and selection in the apartment category.

SOME RECENT REAL ESTATE CHANGE REMINDERS

A few changes for you to be aware of:

• Mortgage Changes went into effect on December 15th, 2024 that may make buying a home easier for you, such as:
  • Change to the down payment structure which reduces the minimum down payment required for properties over $1M (technically this is about the change to mortgage insurance but the effect is the same)
  • Amortization changes that now allow 30 year amortizations for new build and first-time home buyers. This increases buying power by approximately 8-9% for the typical buyer
• Tenant notification changes may impact your timelines and ability to purchase certain properties depending on your situation (3 month notice required for tenanted properties)
• Reminder: Short-term (owned less than 2 years) flipping rules went into effect on January 1

Too many changes to review in detail so here’s a reminder to talk to a trusted real estate professional to understand how these changes may impact your buying or selling plans.

Are you interested in learning about how these changes impact you specifically? Set up a no-obligation conversation here.

THE MARKET NUMBERS

Benchmark prices in the Fraser Valley / City of Surrey compared to last year:

• Detached = $1,482,400 (+0.6%) / $1,607,500 (+0.2%)
• Townhouses = $826,000 (-0.2%) / $851,000 (-0.8%)
• Apartments = $534,600 (-1.2%) / $527,000 (-2.2%)

Properties took a little longer to sell in January. By property type for the Fraser Valley:

• Detached +11 to 56 days
• Townhouses +2 to 36 days
• Apartments +3 to 42 days

Overall, the market is remains in balanced/neutral territory but detached homes are sliding into buyer’s territory. We recently had the Bank of Canada reduce the policy interest rate FOR THE 6TH TIME! Usually this would spark the real estate market and bring buyers out of the woodwork. But it is clear buyers are taking a cautious approach due to the earlier mentioned market instability. With that said, I remain of the mindsight that the market will pick up in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2025.

CONCLUSION

There are always opportunities – so if you are curious about what this means for your real estate plans – let’s talk.

_{1 – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board consists of the communities of Abbotsford, Langley, Mission, North Delta, Surrey and White Rock}

January 2025 Market Update for Surrey

January 2025 Market Update for Fraser Valley