Image: Realtor.ca / A home for sale at 35658 Goodbrand Drive in Abbotsford with an asking price of $1.875 million. Mid-year interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada did not solve the affordability crisis for many home buyers across the Fraser Valley, according to a statement from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, which says home sales across the valley hit a 10-year low in 2024. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Fraser Valley real estate sales

Home sales hit 10-year low in the Fraser Valley

Jan 6, 2025 | 9:08 AM

FRASER VALLEY — Mid-year interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada did not solve the affordability crisis for many home buyers across the Fraser Valley, a local realtors association suggests.

According to a statement from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, reductions in the borrowing rate for mortgages failed to ease housing affordability challenges throughout the valley in 2024, leading to a decline in annual sales.

FVREB had 35,698 listings in its inventory at year-end on December 31, 2024, a 10-year high. However, annual sales recorded on the Multiple Listing Service were the lowest in ten years at 14,570, a decline of one per cent over 2023 and 24 per cent below the 10-year average. The City of Surrey represented the majority of 2024 sales at 51 per cent, with Langley and Abbotsford accounting for 24 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

“2024 marked another subdued year for Fraser Valley home sales on the heels of a ten-year low in 2023,” said Jeff Chadha, Chair of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Slight declines in home prices across some areas of the region provided negligible relief for buyers looking to get into the market. At the same time, the modest price adjustments did not discourage sellers from listing.”

The composite benchmark home price in the Fraser Valley ended the year at $965,000, down two per cent year-over-year, and down four per cent from its 2024 peak in March.

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FVREB recorded 994 sales on its MLS platform in December, a decline of 13 per cent from November.

New listings declined 46 per cent from November to December, from 2,367 to 1,288, contributing to a 23 per cent decline in overall inventory in December. With a sales-to-active listings ratio of 16 per cent in December, the overall market closed out the year in balance. The market is considered balanced when the ratio is between 12 per cent and 20 per cent.

“While the Fraser Valley saw overall balanced market conditions for most of 2024, the low levels of buying and selling activity reflected a challenging year for many as would-be buyers waited for affordability to improve,” said Baldev Gill, CEO of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada along with recent government policies aimed at boosting overall housing supply and improving affordability, should help to increase market conditions in 2025.”

It took longer to sell townhomes and condos in December compared to November. Townhomes spent 36 days on the market, up from 33 days in November, while condos spent 38 days on the market, up from 36 days in the previous month. Single-family homes spent 43 days on the market — no change from November.

The benchmark price for a single-family detached home in the Fraser Valley, $1,480,400, remained almost unchanged in December compared to November 2024. Townhouses dropped nearly a percent to $827,900, while apartments have a benchmark price of about $534,000.

FVREB represents 5,234 realtors who live and work in Abbotsford, Langley, Mission, Surrey, and elsewhere in the Fraser Valley.