OVERALL MARKET SUMMARY

Q4 — Resale Market

A total of 1,665 newer multi-family homes were resold in the Fourth Quarter of 2023. This total is 34 percent lower than the previous quarter but is a 14 percent increase compared to the same quarter in 2022. When comparing activity across product sectors, High Rise, Low Rise, and Townhome re-sales were 30, 40, and 33 percent lower, respectively, when compared to the previous quarter. However, they experienced increases of 35, 7, and 11 percent, respectively, when compared to the same quarter last year. Overall, active listings decreased by 23 percent when compared to the previous quarter but it increased by 33 percent in comparison to the same quarter last year. Active listings for High Rise, Low Rise, and Townhome products each experienced decreases of 25, 11, and 29 percent, respectively, when compared to the Third Quarter of 2023.

Observations and Opinions

At time of publication, the Bank of Canada has maintained its overnight lending rate at five percent for the fifth consecutive announcement. Concurrently, it has been reported that economic growth has stagnated since mid-2023 and is projected to persist into the First Quarter of 2024. Amid fiscal tightening, there is some consensus that near term economic growth and inflation rates have peaked, leading to anticipations of interest rate decreases in the upcoming year. This heightened optimism has spurred numerous project launches towards the year-end, surpassing the previous quarter by more than 3,000 units. Several of these developments have achieved success, characterized by strategic community placement (particularly in masterplan developments), sharply priced offerings, longer completion timelines, and reduced deposit structures. However, despite the positive sentiment in the pre-construction market, elevated borrowing rates continue to impact overall sales activity and has shifted housing demand towards the rental market. As a result, rental vacancies continue to hover around all-time lows and rental rates have consequently reached all-time highs in late 2023.

Notable projects that could launch in the First or Second Quarter of 2024 include: Vancouver Downtown - Anthem’s Park; Vancouver West - Peterson Group’s Ashleigh, Stanton Development’s Willow Walk; Vancouver East - Hudson Project’s Naimo, Fabric Living’s The Cut 2; Burnaby/New Westminster - Anthem’s South Yards Tower 1B and Ethos, Wanson Group’s Nido; North Shore - Creo Development’s Morrison Walk, Wall Financial’s The Trails, SwissReal Group & Brimming Development’s Pierwell; Tri-Cities - Beedie’s Encore, Qualex-Landmark’s Ironwood, Marcon’s Soenhaus, Vansoho & Quad City Limited Partnership’s Ksana, Polygon Homes Partington Creek; Richmond/South Delta – Red Construction’s The Madison at Hunter; South Surrey/White Rock - Streetside Developments’ The Boroughs: Chelsea, Hive Development’s Elisa; Central Surrey/ North Delta - Bosa Properties Parkway 2, Concord Pacific’s Piano, Anthem’s Georgetown Three, Streetside Developments’ Juno, Maskeen Group’s Victory, Amson Group’s Amson Block; Langley/ Cloverdale - Scale Projects’ Scale, ML Emporio Properties’ Azure Grove, Essence Properties’ Jericho Crossing, CastleHill Homes’ Renfrew; Abbotsford/Mission - Mann Group’s Grovemont, AB Wall’s Highstreet Village (Building 4), Wood Lock Developments’ Everwood.