As we transition from January into February 2025, the Greater Vancouver real estate market is experiencing renewed momentum, with a surge in new listings, steady demand, and balanced conditions. With sales increasing year-over-year and more sellers returning to the market, conditions are shifting toward higher activity levels compared to 2024.

Let’s dive into the key trends shaping the market and what buyers and sellers should expect in the coming months.

Market Activity: More Listings, More Sales, and a Balanced Market

The Metro Vancouver housing market is showing clear signs of recovery, with sales and listings both posting significant gains:

• Home Sales: 1,552 residential properties were sold in January 2025—an 8.8% increase compared to January 2024. However, sales remain 11.3% below the 10-year average.

• New Listings: A major surge in seller activity saw 5,566 new listings hit the market in January—a 46% jump from January 2024 and 31.1% above the 10-year average.

• Total Inventory: The number of active listings reached 11,494 properties, reflecting a 33.1% increase compared to last year and 33.2% above the 10-year average.

This influx of inventory is providing more choices for buyers, but also creating a competitive environment for sellers. With both sales and listings rising, the market remains balanced, keeping home prices relatively stable.

Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio (S/A): A Closer Look

The Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio (S/A) is a key metric that indicates whether market conditions favor buyers, sellers, or remain balanced:

• Overall Market S/A: 14.1% (Balanced Market)

• Detached Homes: 9.2% (Near Buyer’s Market Territory)

• Attached Homes (Townhouses): 18.5% (Leaning Towards Sellers)

• Apartments: 16.5% (Balanced)

🔹 What This Means:

• When the S/A drops below 12%, downward price pressure typically occurs.

• When the S/A rises above 20% for a sustained period, prices tend to increase.

• Right now, Metro Vancouver sits in a balanced market, though detached homes are trending toward a buyer’s market due to their lower S/A ratio.

Benchmark Prices: Stability Across Property Types

Despite increased market activity, home prices remained stable in January.

Metro Vancouver Benchmark Prices (January 2025)

• Detached home prices saw modest growth, increasing 3.1% year-over-year (YoY).

• Townhouse prices are up 2.7% YoY but dipped slightly compared to December.

• Apartment prices are down 1.7% YoY, with some declines seen across Burnaby, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver.

Regional Price Movements:

• Notable Price Decreases:

  • West Vancouver (-3.3%), Port Moody (-1.7%), Pitt Meadows (-1.9%)

• Price Gains:

  • Bowen Island (+2.3%), North Vancouver (+2.0%), Sunshine Coast (+2.9%)

🔹 Takeaway: While price growth has slowed, stability in benchmark prices suggests a market that is neither overheating nor cooling dramatically.

February 2025 Early Trends

• More Listings Hitting the Market: As of February 4, new listings remain 46% higher YoY, indicating continued seller confidence.

• Balanced Conditions Holding: While sales are increasing, supply is keeping pace, maintaining a stable market for now.

🔹 Looking Ahead:

• Spring tends to bring more buyer activity—if demand picks up significantly, it could shift conditions in favor of sellers.

• Interest rates and economic factors will play a major role in shaping market trends for the rest of Q1 2025.

What This Means for Buyers & Sellers

📉 For Buyers:

👉 More options on the market → Take time to find the right home.
👉 Mortgage rates stabilizing → Plan ahead and get pre-approved.
👉 Balanced market → Less pressure to overbid, but still be competitive.

💡 Strategy:

• If you’re buying a detached home, you may have negotiation power in some areas.

• For townhouses & condos, expect more competition, especially in affordable price ranges.

📈 For Sellers:

👉 More buyers are returning, but pricing needs to be strategic.
👉 Balanced conditions mean realistic expectations are key.
👉 Marketing matters more in a competitive listing environment.

💡 Strategy:

• Stage your home properly and price it competitively to stand out.

• If you're in an area with high new inventory, be prepared to adjust expectations.

Final Thoughts: A Market in Transition

The Greater Vancouver real estate market is rebounding from 2024’s slower pace, moving into a more active and balanced phase. While higher inventory levels are keeping prices stable, stronger demand and favorable mortgage rates could heat things up heading into the spring.

If you're thinking of buying or selling, now is a great time to start planning. Reach out to discuss your goals and get expert insights on the best strategies for navigating the market in 2025!

The Burnaby Real Estate market saw an increase in activity in the month of March versus February with a total of 318 sales and 516 new listings across all property types. While inventory and total sales remain well under the 10-year average for this time of year housing prices and activity improved more than was expected for the month. The following table provides the benchmark price for each property type and the % change during the month:

While the number of properties listed for sale in Burnaby increased during the month the amount of real estate currently for sale is still far lower than is typical of this time of year. This lack of inventory combined with the number of sales in the month has the Sales-to-Active listing ratios for all property types - as detailed in the table below - well above 20% across the City of Burnaby. Should this persist there will be upward pressure on real estate prices.

Some points of interest on the Burnaby Real Estate Market for the month of March:

• The highest sale in Burnaby during the month of March was for a property in Burnaby Souths Deer Lake Place neighborhood that was listed for $3,990,000 and sold $3,587,000.

• The most inexpensive sale in Burnaby for the month of March was a 1-bedroom condo located in the Simon Fraser Hills neighborhood that was listed for $399,000 and sold for $389,000.

• Houses in Burnaby South saw the most value appreciation with a 3.7% increase

• Townhouses throughout the City of Burnaby decreased in value during the month

• Condos in Burnaby East saw the most value appreciation with an increase of 3.5%

In February, Burnaby's real estate market saw a significant decline in both detached home and condo sales. The 47 detached home sales in Burnaby represent a 54% decrease from the 102 sales recorded during the same month last year. This decline was mirrored in the condo market, which saw 180 apartments sold in February compared to 303 the previous year.

Despite the drop in sales, the Sales-to-Active listing ratio within the Burnaby detached housing market actually increased to 24% which would suggest there to be upward pressure on pricing in this marketplace. This is in large part due to a 58% decline in the number of homes that were brought to the market, which was 151 last year, versus just 81 homes this past February.

Similarly, the condo market also experienced a decrease in the number of listings, with 276 condos listed for sale this February compared to 393 in February of last year. This represents a reduction of almost 30% in the number of condominiums added to the market. With that, the sales-to-active listing ratio in the Burnaby condo market also increased this past month from just 16% at the end of January to 38% to begin March.

It's important to note that the decline in sales and new listings may be due to a variety of factors. While the increase in the sales-to-active listing ratio to figures above 20% in both the condo and detached housing marketing suggests that there may be upward pressure on prices in Burnaby there are also other contributing factors to that including the number of homes removed from the market without a sale.

Some other interesting stats to end February from the Burnaby housing market:

• The benchmark price of a Burnaby North townhouse was up 2.4% in February to $892,100

• The benchmark price of a Burnaby house, while down 10.4% over the year, was up this past month to $1,893,800.

• The benchmark price of a Burnaby condo has seen two consecutive positive months and now at $736,000

• At month's end there were 482 condos for sale, 68 townhouses and 203 homes across Burnaby.