So far in 2024 there were more options and stable prices for those looking to buy a home on the lower Sunshine Coast compared to last year according to data cited by the Greater Vancouver Realtor’s organization (GVR) on housing market activity for the first quarter of 2024, in a statement released April 4.
In March, the overall average benchmark home price for our area last month was $826,300. That value was unchanged over the past year. Compared to three years ago, average home prices increase by 12.6 per cent. Looking back five years, the organization stated prices are up by 45 per cent and the price escalation over the past decade has been 143.8 per cent.
Units on the local market
There was more housing on the market in the first three months of 2024 compared to last year, with 292 detached, 36 attached and 30 apartment units listed. In the first quarter of 2023, those numbers were 223 detached, 38 attached and 29 apartments.
When it came to the volume of sales completed, those numbered 110 for all types of units in 2024’s first three months. That was also an increase over the 95 unit sales recorded during the same period of the previous year.
The “sales to listings” calculation remained consistent for this and last year's first quarter for local detached homes, hovering in the 30 to 31 per cent range. The ratio dropped for attached type housing so far this year, coming in at 33 per cent compared to 45 in Q1 2023. So far in 2024 “sales to listings” ticked upward to 37 from 28 per cent for apartment units.
Approaching 'sellers’ market territory': GVR
“If you’re finding the weather a little chillier than last spring, you may find some comfort in knowing that the market isn’t quite as hot as it was last spring either, particularly if you’re a buyer,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics said in the release. “Despite the welcome increase in inventory, the overall market balance continues inching deeper into sellers’ market territory, which suggests demand remains strong for well-priced and well-located properties.
“With the latest inflation numbers trending in the right direction, it remains likely that we’ll see at least one or two modest cuts to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate in 2024, but even if these cuts come, they may not provide the boost to affordability many had been hoping for.”
The release cited the March 2024 composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver region, which includes the lower Sunshine Coast and 19 other geographic regions, at $1.197 million. Five of those had benchmark prices below $1 million. Our area’s composite benchmark ($826,300) was the lowest,in the region with the closest value of $848,100 being recorded in New Westminster. West Vancouver took top spot with that value at $2.55 million.
