Let’s talk about the third quarter of 2024 in the Whistler and Pemberton real estate markets.
Not into reading? No worries! Check out the full scoop in this YouTube video:
Despite a typical slow summer of sales, inventory levels declined slightly throughout the quarter. This came as a function of an almost 40% reduction in the number of listings coming to the market in Q3 vs Q2 As a side note, there was a flurry of new listings that came on the market back in April and May as a result of the capital gains changes but that quickly slowed following the June 25 effective date.
Whistler Market Recap:
In Whistler, there were a total of 104 sales in Q3 spread fairly equally across July, August and a slight pick up in September. This was a 44% decline from the previous quarter, and a 4% decline when compared to the same quarter last year. The luxury segment also slowed down a bit in Q3 with 7 sales over $4M in Whistler and a top sale of $8.7M.
Year-to-date buyer origin remains fairly typical, with 81% of purchasers from BC, and a slight increase in the number of US based buyers from 8% at the end of Q2 up to 10% on the year.
Market inventory is currently sitting 20% above inventory levels at this time last year and 25% above the 5-year average. Overall, Q3 market conditions in Whistler leaned in favour of buyers.
Pemberton Market Recap:
Both sales and inventory levels remained relatively steady in Pemberton throughout the quarter, with a slight slowdown in sales in September. There were a total of 27* sales in Q3, which was a 16% decline from Q2 sales volume but a 50% increase from Q3 of last year. This is likely a result of the three consecutive interest rate decreases we have seen since June along with the mounting consumer confidence that rates will continue to decrease throughout the end of the year and into next.
There were 2 luxury sales in Pemberton over $2M, both of which came in August. Market inventory currently sits at 88 units, which is an overall 6% increase in inventory from the same time last year. However, when excluding vacant lots, inventory has actually decreased slightly versus September of last year.
So far this year, Pemberton has seen 73% of buyers originating from either Whistler or Pemberton, and an additional 21% of buyers coming from the Lower Mainland and the remainder of BC. Overall, the Pemberton market also leaned in favour of buyers in Q3.
In the last quarter of 2024, we expect to see a pickup in both the Whistler and Pemberton markets as a result of buyers looking for places for the upcoming snow season coupled with the pent-up demand stemming from all the buyers waiting on the sidelines for interest rates to decrease. With the US Federal Bank cutting rates by half a percentage point in September, the Bank of Canada now has additional runway to continue with the consistent cutting. Consumer expectations that the rate cuts are to continue will naturally bring more buyers back to our real estate markets and likely shift the product mix sold.
We expect to see some continued volatility of the financial markets into the fall with the US election approaching in November, which could impact sales in the Whistler market. Closer to home, there is a provincial election on October 19 which historically has generated it’s own share of unusual behavior rooted in possible policy changes for the BC housing landscape.
I’ve helped over 1,000 buyers and sellers in the Whistler real estate market over the past 25 years so I hope some of my market knowledge in this video has helped you too.
