If 2025 felt quiet in Fraser Valley real estate, the numbers confirm it.

Despite falling prices, decade-high inventory, and improved negotiating power for buyers, 2025 shaped up to be one of the slowest years for home sales in over two decades. Let’s break down what happened, what the December stats tell us, and what this means heading into 2026.

2025 in Review: A Slow Year by Every Measure

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board recorded 12,224 total home sales in 2025, which tells a clear story:

•  Down 16% compared to 2024

•  33% below the 10-year average

• ️ Surrey led activity with 48% of all sales

• Langley followed at 24%

• Abbotsford accounted for 16%

In simple terms, buyers had options — but many chose to wait.

Inventory Hit Levels We Haven’t Seen in Decades

One of the biggest storylines of 2025 was supply.

• 37,963 new listings came to market throughout the year

• That’s the highest level of available inventory in nearly 40 years

Normally, this kind of selection would spark activity. Instead, uncertainty around interest rates, affordability, and the broader economy kept many buyers cautious.

The result?
A market that technically favoured buyers — but didn’t fully activate them.

Home Prices: Lower, But Not Collapsing

Prices softened throughout 2025, but this wasn’t a freefall.

• Composite benchmark price (end of 2025): $905,900

•  Down 6% year-over-year

•  Down 24% from the March 2022 peak

This reset has been gradual, not dramatic. Prices adjusted to reflect higher borrowing costs and buyer hesitation rather than panic selling.

December 2025: A More Balanced Finish to the Year

December wrapped up quietly, as expected seasonally, but with some important signals.

Sales Activity

• 919 sales in December

• Down 2.5% from November

• Down 7.5% from December 2024

New Listings & Inventory

• New listings fell sharply by 39% month-over-month to 1,350

• Active listings ended the year at 6,965, still above seasonal norms

With fewer new listings coming online, the sales-to-active listings ratio climbed to 13%, officially placing the market in balanced territory (12–20%).

That balance matters going into 2026.

Price Breakdown by Property Type (December 2025)

Here’s how different segments performed:

Single-Family Homes

• Benchmark price: $1,388,400

• Down 1.2% month-over-month

• Down 6.2% year-over-year

️ Townhomes

• Benchmark price: $781,300

• Up 0.3% month-over-month

• Down 5.7% year-over-year

Condos / Apartments

• Benchmark price: $491,600

• Down 1.0% month-over-month

• Down 7.5% year-over-year

Townhomes showed the most resilience, while condos continued to feel pressure from affordability and investor pullback.

Why Buyers Stayed on the Sidelines in 2025

This slowdown wasn’t just about housing.

Many households were dealing with:

• higher cost of living

• stricter mortgage qualification rules

• economic uncertainty

• concerns about job stability and future rates

Even though conditions improved on paper, confidence lagged behind.

What This Means Heading Into 2026

The Fraser Valley market is ending the year more balanced than it started, with:

• realistic pricing

• healthier inventory levels

• less emotional decision-making

For buyers, this means:

• more negotiating power

• more time to choose the right home

• fewer multiple-offer scenarios

For sellers, it means:

• pricing correctly matters more than ever

• presentation and strategy are critical

• overpricing will be punished quickly

Thinking of Buying or Selling in 2026?

Market stats give us the big picture — but real estate is always hyper-local.

If you’re wondering:

• what your home is actually worth today

• how your neighbourhood performed vs the broader market

• whether 2026 is the right time to make a move

I’m happy to walk you through the numbers and run a no-pressure, no-obligation market breakdown specific to your area.

Clarity beats guessing — especially in a market like this.

This January, BC homeowners open their assessment notice and have the same reaction:

“Wait… why is this number lower?”
or
“Is this what my home is actually worth?”

If you’re feeling confused, you’re not alone. BC Assessment causes more stress and misinformation than just about anything else in real estate. Let’s break it down in plain English.

What BC Assessment actually is (and what it is not)

BC Assessment exists to help municipalities fairly distribute property taxes. That’s it.

It is not:

• a Realtor’s pricing strategy

• a bank appraisal

• a guarantee of what your home would sell for

Your assessed value reflects an estimate of market value as of July 1 of the previous year, even though you’re receiving it months later. So a 2026 assessment is based on what the market looked like on July 1, 2025 — not today.

That timing alone explains a lot of confusion.

Why many BC assessments are down this year

The biggest reason assessments are lower this year is simple: the market cooled compared to the year before.

By mid-2025, buyers were more cautious, price sensitivity increased, and many areas saw fewer aggressive bidding situations. When sales prices soften, assessments tend to follow.

Important note: a lower assessment does not automatically mean your taxes will go down. Property taxes are based on how your home compares to others in your area, not just your number in isolation.

How BC Assessment decides your value

BC Assessment uses a mass appraisal system. That means they apply a consistent formula across thousands of properties rather than doing a custom evaluation on each home.

They typically look at:

• recent sales of similar properties

• location and neighbourhood

• size, age, and general characteristics

• basic features like garages, decks, and lot size

Because it’s standardized, it works well for tax purposes — but it can miss important details that affect real-world pricing.

Where BC Assessment falls short

BC Assessment can’t account for things like:

• renovations vs original condition

• layout issues that buyers care about

• noise, traffic, or privacy problems

• better positioning within a complex

• view quality differences

• strata health or upcoming special levies

• curb appeal and overall presentation

Two homes can have nearly identical assessments and sell tens of thousands of dollars apart once real buyers get involved.

Pros and cons of BC Assessment

The pros

• It provides a consistent, province-wide baseline

• It helps distribute property taxes fairly

• It gives homeowners a general sense of market direction year over year

The cons

• It’s always backward-looking, not current

• It can’t capture condition, upgrades, or desirability

• It often gets treated like a pricing tool when it isn’t one

Why your taxes might not go down even if your assessment did

This part surprises a lot of homeowners.

Property taxes are calculated based on your home’s value relative to other homes in your municipality. So:

• If your value dropped 5% but most homes dropped 10%, your share of taxes could actually go up.

• If your value dropped more than average, you might pay a smaller share.

That’s why assessment changes don’t always match tax bill changes.

Why there’s much more to pricing than just BC Assessment

When it comes time to actually sell, buyers don’t care about your BC Assessment. They care about:

• how your home compares to others they’ve seen

• how it feels when they walk through the door

• whether it’s move-in ready

• how many other buyers are competing

• what similar homes have sold for recently

True market value is shaped by:

• micro-location and street appeal

• supply and demand at that moment

• condition and upgrades

• layout and functionality

• strata finances and rules

• marketing, photos, staging, and timing

BC Assessment is a starting point. The market is emotional, competitive, and hyper-local.

Should you challenge your BC Assessment?

If the basic facts are wrong (size, classification, property type), it’s worth correcting. If your assessment is just lower or higher than you expected, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s wrong — it may just reflect broader market conditions.

Before challenging, it’s smart to understand what homes like yours actually sold for around the assessment date.

Want the real number? Get a second opinion

If you’re thinking about selling in 2026, or you just want clarity, BC Assessment shouldn’t be the final word.

I’m happy to run a free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that shows:

• what similar homes have actually sold for

• how your property stacks up today

• what pricing strategy would make sense if you decided to list

No pressure, no obligation — just real numbers and clear context