Fraser Valley’s rare buyer’s market fails to lure cautious homebuyers
Decade‑high inventory, softer prices and a clear tilt toward buyers still failed to ignite demand in the Fraser Valley’s housing market in 2025, leaving sales at their lowest level in a quarter century and capping a year of uncertainty for lenders and brokers alike.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) reported 12,224 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) sales last year, down 16% from 2024 and 33% below the 10‑year average. That's the slowest year since 2000 and the first full‑year buyer’s market in 25 years.
New listings surged to 37,963, the highest level in more than four decades, while the composite Benchmark home price ended 2025 at $905,900, 6% lower year‑over‑year and 24% below the March 2022 peak.
“Ample selection and easing prices gave buyers some of the most meaningful opportunities we’ve seen in recent years,” said FVREB chair Tore Jacobsen.
“While these conditions favoured motivated sellers in 2025, the hesitancy of many buyers to capitalize reflected the general market climate throughout the province and indeed across the country.”
Surrey drove 48% of all transactions, with Langley at 24% and Abbotsford at 16%.
December underlined the slowdown: 919 sales were recorded, 2.5% below November and 7.5% under December 2024, even as active listings remained elevated at 6,965 and the sales‑to‑active listings ratio edged into balanced territory at 13%.
“The slowdown we saw in 2025 wasn’t just about housing – it reflected broader economic uncertainty felt across the region,” said FVREB chief executive officer Baldev Gill.
“Households were navigating affordability challenges, rising costs and tougher mortgage requirements, all of which contributed to a quieter market.”
Within FVREB’s jurisdiction, the Benchmark price for single‑family detached homes sat at $1,388,400 in December, down 1.2% from November and 6.2% from a year earlier.
Townhome values rose a modest 0.3% month‑over‑month to $781,300 but remained 5.7% lower year‑over‑year, while condo prices fell to $491,600, down 1% on the month and 7.5% annually.
Regional data pointed to a broader pattern. Greater Vancouver also logged its lowest annual home sales in more than 20 years even as listings reached their highest level since the mid‑1990s. It underscores how higher borrowing costs and stricter qualification have weighed on demand across major B.C. markets.
The Fraser Valley slowdown has emerged even as active listings climbed and prices eased, giving borrowers more time and choice. Those trends have now hardened into a full‑year story – one in which buyers held back despite having leverage, and where brokers and lenders had to work harder to convert interest into funded deals.
Any rebound in activity will depend less on inventory and pricing, and more on how quickly confidence returns as borrowing costs and qualification pressures eventually ease.
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