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DECEMBER 2024 MARKET UPDATE

NANAIMO, BC – The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 7,489 unit sales (all property types) in 2024 compared to 7,297 in 2023 and 7,810 in 2022. December 2024 saw unit sales of 443 (all property types) and 2,883 active listings.

In the single-family category (excluding acreage and waterfront), 227 homes sold in December, up 52 per cent from one year ago and down 15 per cent from November. Sales of condo apartments last month came in at 44, increasing by 16 per cent year over year and down 29 per cent from November. In the row/townhouse category, 58 units changed hands in December, up 49 per cent from one year ago and down 24 per cent from November.

Active listings of single-family homes were 829 in December, up from the 796 posted one year ago. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments was 271 last month, up from 257 in December 2023. There were 195 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 244 the previous year.

VIREB CEO Jason Yochim reports that REALTORS® are feeling optimistic about 2025, with many clients stating they plan to buy or sell this year.

“Midway through 2024, VIREB’s housing market was fairly lacklustre, but it picked up steam later in the year,” says Yochim. “Our market remains balanced, indicated by an absorption rate of 15 per cent, which benefits buyers and sellers.”

Moving on to prices, the board-wide benchmark price (MLS® Home Price Index) of a single-family home was $776,500 in December 2024, up three per cent from one year ago. In the apartment category, the benchmark price was $395,700 last month, down one per cent from the previous December. The benchmark price of a townhouse in December was $547,000, up two per cent from one year ago.

Regardless of market conditions, connecting with a local REALTOR® can help smooth the way to a successful real estate transaction.

For more information and full update, check out the following resources on REALTOR Link®.

December 2024 Statistics Package

Our DECEMBER 2024 Market Update is provided above and available on YouTube; it summarizes our housing market in about two minutes.

Please note: The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) transitioned to a new MLS® System in July 2020 and now uses a significantly different data model, which has affected our categories and terminology. For the boardsupplied graphs, single-family is now referred to as single-family detached, apartment as condo apartment, and townhouse as row/townhouse, which now includes patio homes. However, when reporting HPI numbers, VIREB still refers to single-family, apartment, and townhouse in the media release.