Vancouver Real Estate Market Statistics 2024

Vancouver Real Estate Statistics 2024: Sentiment Analysis and Demographics

Offering an excellent quality of life, mild climate, stunning views, an abundance of outdoor attractions, a low crime rate, and a robust economy, Vancouver is one of the most liveable cities in the world. The city’s real estate market reflects this, with a growing demand for properties in the Greater Vancouver area. 

Index

1. Investment Opportunities Are Most Sought-After
2. Those Earning $80,000 to $120,000 Most Interested In Real Estate
3. Over 65s Express Highest Interest In The Property Market
4. Canadian Women More Interested in Real Estate Than Men
5. Real Estate Engagement In Canada Paints A Clear Picture Of The Market 
6. Methodology – About Polly’s Data

At the end of 2023, the real estate market had achieved a balance between buyers and sellers, but in early 2024, this balance started to shift back in favor of sellers. The supply of listed properties was not able to keep up with the demand despite the average sale price increasing by 4.2%(source: blog.remax.ca) between 2022 and 2023 and the Bank of Canada expressing an unwillingness to lower its policy rate due to ongoing inflation.

With Vancouver being such an appealing place to live and the market being relatively competitive, it’s not surprising that real estate is a major talking point online. To find out what Canadians are saying about the property market, we reviewed data from Polly over 12 months, up to April 12th, 2024. The data surveyed 2,085,917 Canadians’ engagement in various real estate-related topics online across platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and X. Let’s take a closer look at what these voices are saying.

Investment Opportunities A Top Talking Point

The attributes that Canadians are most in the real estate market cover several categories, from investment opportunities to low interest rates. According to Polly, the graph below illustrates the interest in the various real estate market attributes in Vancouver.

With the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) forecasting that home sales will increase by more than 9% in 2024 and a further 12% in 2025, it’s no surprise that the greatest engagement levels (17.09%) relate to investment properties. Purchasing real estate in Vancouver will certainly be a good investment if these forecasts prove correct. However, it’s interesting to note that the engagement levels for an attractive rental market were far lower (3.86%) as many investors would likely rent their properties out.  

Coming in just 1.39% behind investment opportunities, livability (15.70%) is clearly an important market attribute. Vancouver is the most expensive place to live in Canada, with the monthly costs for a family of four averaging $5208.07, excluding rent or mortgage. As inflation continues to rise, these costs are becoming increasingly challenging for many, and the livability of the area is a major concern.

With the property market favoring sellers, high demand is also attracting a lot of engagement, at 15.33%, while low vacancy rates score 5.16% engagement levels. While the two market attributes may correlate, demand clearly is a more pertinent concern.

14.35% engagement was recorded for infrastructure, as this is always a factor when considering a property purchase. However, local infrastructure is well maintained, with 60% of the core public infrastructure built and maintained by local municipalities. A strong economy attracted 8.15% of engagement, while population growth was a minor consideration, at 1.16%. 

The market attributes that garnered the least engagement were a stable housing market at 1.12% and low interest rates, which didn’t register at all with 0.00% input recorded. Considering the Bank of Canada has held its key interest rate at 5% since July 12, 2023, low interest rates simply appear not to be on anyone’s radar. 

Those Earning $80,000 to $120,000 Most Interested In Real Estate

Polly’s data reveals that those earning a mid-to-high-level income were most actively engaged in real estate conversations online. The chart below highlights the earning brackets and their overall engagement levels.

In March 2024, the average home price in Greater Vancouver was $1,318,687. This was an annual increase of 4.1% and a monthly increase of 3.3%. For those looking to purchase a home in this area, earnings are a major consideration as they impact mortgage eligibility and repayments. Looking at which earning categories are most talkative about real estate, Polly found that those topping the chart at 18.92% were earning an annual income of $80,000 to $120,000. Considering the average salary for a full-time worker is $63,013 annually, this puts those in this engagement category in the mid-to-high earnings bracket. 

In contrast, those earning $40,000 to $80,000 had the second lowest engagement rate at 2.10%, topped only by those in the $5000,000 to $1,000,000 category, which Polly recorded 0.00% interest for.

Those earning under $40,000 annually had engagement levels of 5.69%, while those in the $120,000 to $200,000 bracket followed close behind with 5.08%. Exactly one per cent less, at 4.08%, were earners in the $200,000 to $500,000 category. 

13.79% of people surveyed did not disclose their income.

Over 65s Express Highest Interest In The Property Market

Included in Polly’s data was an analysis of the various age groups talking about the property market. In the graph below, it’s evident which demographics have the most to say online. 

According to Newswire, the number of elderly households in Canada is on the rise, and this will have a major impact on the property market. Whether retiring and downsizing, buying and selling, or moving into the rental market, this age group is extremely active, and having the highest engagement levels (30.85%) confirms this. Following this group are those in the 55-64 years old category at 28.21%, likely for similar reasons as they consider their golden years.

Those aged 45-54 have 20.96% engagement levels as they likely have higher incomes and more stability, followed by those in the 35-44 age bracket with 9.43% engagement.  

The lowest engagement comes from those in the 25-34 age group (4.44%) and the second lowest from those aged under 25, at 6.11%. This is interesting as the youngest ages tend to have less buying power, while those in their mid-20s and 30s are usually more settled and financially stable. Studies also show that the typical first-time home buyer is 33 years old, making this an even more intriguing result.

Canadian Women More Interested in Real Estate Than Men

Polly’s data indicates different rates of engagement by gender, with the graph below clearly showing women in the lead. 

In 2019, 61% of first-time and repeat home buyers in Canada were female. Fast forward to 2023, and single women now make up the second-largest group of buyers, topped only by married couples. In contrast, single men only make up 10% of the buyer’s market. 

Polly’s data shows that women have a higher engagement rate than men, at 59.28%, which correlates with this trend. Men come in at 40.72%, highlighting an engagement gap of nearly  20%. For now, women are taking the lead not just in the conversation around real estate online but also in property purchases in Canada. 

Real Estate Engagement In Canada Paints A Clear Picture Of The Market 

Polly’s data clearly shows what real estate topics Canadians are interested in online and the engagement levels of different demographics. From investment properties being the most talked about to those in their senior years engaging in the highest number of real-estate-related conversations, the numbers highlight current trends and behaviors.

As Vancouver remains an attractive city to live in, there’s no doubt that these conversations will continue, and the market will influence the topics and demographics that engage in conversations online.  

About the Data

 The data was sourced from Polly, who created independent samples of 2,085,917 people from X, Reddit, and TikTok in Canada over a year, up until 12 April 2024. Responses were collected and analyzed to produce outcomes within a 90% confidence interval and 5% margin of error. Engagement estimated how many people in the location were participating. 

Demographics were determined using many features, including name, location and self-disclosed description. Privacy was preserved using k-anonymity and differential privacy. Results are based on what people describe online — questions were not posed to the people in the sample.