Vancouver Realtors with an active Instagram presence are selling more homes and doing it faster, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University and Roomvu. 

The study analyzed more than 63,000 transactions from the Greater Vancouver Realtors’ MLS from mid-2021 to mid-2024 and found that agents who maintain an active Instagram profile see significantly higher sales volumes and lower days on market (DOM) compared to their less social media-savvy peers.

According to the study, agents using social media were found 15 per cent more likely to improve their sales performance.

The numbers behind the trend

The research, led by SFU Assistant Professor of Quantitative Marketing Miremad Soleymanian and commissioned by marketing firm Roomvu, combined multiple datasets, including:

• 63,200 MLS transactions (2021 to 2024)
• Performance data for 13,698 Realtors
• Instagram activity data for 2,639 Realtors

Of the nearly 14,000 agents analyzed, only 19.3 per cent had a measurable Instagram presence. Despite this, those who actively used the platform had clear performance advantages, particularly in expanding their market reach and reducing the time it takes to sell homes.

More followers, more sales?

So, does follower count matter? The study found that a standard deviation increase in network size—measured by followers, likes and general reach—correlated with 2.1 additional sales over four years and 5.3 fewer DOM. This suggests that having a larger audience can translate into faster and more frequent transactions.

While engagement metrics like comments and likes have some impact on sales, network size had a stronger influence. The study explains that “…prioritizing follower growth and regular posting frequency over engagement optimization provides the strongest returns in terms of market performance.” 

Beyond just selling faster, agents with a strong Instagram presence were also able to extend their geographic market coverage. A standard deviation increase in social media reach correlated with activity in 1.7 more unique sub-areas, meaning that well-connected agents were able to conduct business in a wider range of neighbourhoods.

Four types of Instagram agents

The study categorized real estate agents into four distinct social media strategy groups:

• Balanced engagers – moderate following with steady engagement
• Minimal participants – low follower count, sporadic activity
• High engagement specialists – moderate following but high engagement
• Mass following leaders – the biggest networks, highest posting frequency, and the best sales performance

The best-performing agents fell into the “mass following leaders” category, according to the study. This group showed a 15 to 20 per cent higher chance of improving their sales year-over-year compared to those with no social media presence.

Social media’s long-term impact

The research also highlights a growing trend: social media has become increasingly effective over time. Realtors with an active presence on Instagram saw stronger performance growth after January 2023 compared to earlier periods.

Sam Mehrbod, CEO and co-founder, Roomvu, explains, “It’s surprising that the real impact of social media only started showing up after 2023. Even more surprising is that it took nearly four years for social media to significantly influence listing-side results. This proves social media’s impact isn’t instant—it builds over time.”

This effect was most pronounced in seller-side transactions, reinforcing the idea that Instagram can be an especially powerful tool for listing agents looking to market properties.

“This study makes one thing clear—Realtors need to stay consistent with social media,” Merhbod says. “If you think one viral video will bring you a flood of listings, you’re in for a shock. It takes years of steady posting before you see real, measurable results.”

Metro Vancouver’s residential market in 2024 proved to be a mixed bag, falling short of optimistic forecasts set earlier in the year by Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR). While some gains were seen, they didn’t reach expectations, leaving some market watchers reassessing their expectations for 2025.

Missed sales targets

GVR released its H1 forecast for 2025, including a look at how 2024’s market compared to its forecast. At the start of last year, optimism was high. GVR predicted an 8 per cent increase in sales compared to 2023, with projections reaching 28,250 transactions by year-end. Ultimately the market closed the year with 26,561 sales, a 2 per cent rise over the previous year. The momentum, initially driven by reduced borrowing costs, faltered in the summer, curtailing overall performance.

Price gains under pressure

Similarly, price growth failed to reach expectations. The average residential price was forecasted to rise by 3 per cent in 2024, reaching  $1,320,000. Instead, the actual increase was half that—1.5 per cent, with the year-end average price settling at $1.3-million. Early gains in the year were eroded by growing inventory levels and weaker-than-expected sales.

“Despite numerous cuts to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate and subsequent reductions to borrowing costs throughout 2024, supply continued to outpace demand by year-end, eroding, but not fully erasing, the price gains which began the year,” the report notes.

Looking ahead to 2025

With 2024’s shortfalls as a backdrop, GVR’s forecast for 2025 maintains cautious optimism. Key drivers such as population growth, household formation and lower borrowing costs are expected to support the market. Political and economic uncertainties—including potential U.S. trade policies pose a risk to the housing market

Risks and wildcards

GVR’s modeling suggests that based on “preliminary analysis” proposed U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, if implemented, could create a drag on sales activity. The impact is expected to be short-lived, and “any negative impacts to home prices are likely to be modest and would most likely arise through the (potential) reduction in sales activity, rather than through any direct impacts arising from the tariffs themselves.”

Canada’s inevitable federal election could also derail GVR’s outlook for the region. “Political turmoil at the Canadian federal level along with the potential for a new Conservative government could yield policies negatively impacting the housing market, though new policies could also positively impact the market as well.”

Outlook for 2025

GVR economists see improved momentum heading into 2025 compared to last year, with lower borrowing costs anticipated to support demand.

“Our price forecasts for 2025 are again similar to those we expected in 2024, however the market now has the benefit of significantly lower borrowing costs to start the year than were available in 2024, which we believe should provide the necessary stimulus to reach our 2025 price forecasts.”

Residential sales are expected to reach 30,250—a 13.9 per cent increase over 2024, while the average home price is projected to grow 4.1 per cent—reaching $1,354,000. 

As with most forecast’s, GVR’s outlook for the year comes with a key caveat: a stronger-than-expected economic recovery could accelerate sales and price growth, while heightened inventory levels or recessionary pressures could dampen performance.

Home sales in Metro Vancouver continued their upward trend in November, coupled with an influx of new listings.

According to the Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), 2,181 residential sales were recorded last month, marking a 28 per cent increase compared to November 2023. 

“When we saw demand pick up in October, there was still a question over whether it was a blip in the data or the start of an emerging trend,” explains Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “While the November market isn’t quite a Cyber Monday door-crasher, buyers are continuing to take advantage of the relatively balanced market conditions while they last.”

The average home price was $1.17-million—nearly unchanged month-over-month and down 0.9 per cent compared to last year.

New listings and inventory on the rise

GVR reports 3,725 homes were listed in November—a 10.6 per cent increase year-over-year and 5.4 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. This has pushed the total inventory of homes available to 13,245, representing a 21 per cent increase year-over-year and 26 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

Lis emphasizes that this steady supply of homes has played a crucial role in keeping prices stable. “Although demand has increased as we head into year-end, the number of newly listed properties coming to market in November remained sufficient to keep prices steady across all segments,” he notes.

A balanced market

The sales-to-active listings ratio—a key indicator of market conditions—sat at 17 per cent in November, reflecting balanced market conditions across property types. Detached homes posted a ratio of 12.7%, while attached homes and apartments recorded ratios of 23.1% and 18.7%, respectively.

Outlook for the New Year

As the market edges closer to 2025, Lis warns “…if the strength in demand continues at the current pace, and the pace of newly listed properties coming to market doesn’t keep up, it may not be long until we see the return of upward pressure on prices.”

The never-ending battle between supply and demand is a story well-known to those in real estate. And when it comes to the condo markets in Canada’s two largest cities, scales are heavily favouring buyers. 

According to a CIBC report, Ontario and B.C. are the biggest Canadian markets “exposed” to the slowdown in condo investment— where investors typically dominate condo purchases. The sales-to-new listings ratio in both Toronto and Vancouver shows the market currently favours buyers, with the current condo supply flooding the market.

Vancouver vs. Toronto

As Chief Economist with the BC Real Estate Association, Brendon Ogmundson has his finger on the pulse when it comes to Metro Vancouver’s housing market; he’s also observant of the activity (or lack thereof) in the Greater Toronto area.

“The big difference between Vancouver and Toronto is that prices have basically not budged in Vancouver,” he explains. “Sales in Metro Vancouver have been running around about a thousand or so a month with about 5,000 or 6,000 active listings.”

That equates to about roughly five to six months’ worth of inventory, he says.

According to Greater Vancouver Realtors, the average price of an apartment in October was $757,200, a 1.6 per cent decrease over October 2023. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported the average price of a condo was $694,038 last month—a year-over-year drop of 2 per cent.

“It’s maybe slightly at the lower end of what we consider balanced—if it was really oversupplied, then we would see a lot more downward pressure on prices and we’re just not seeing that at all,” Ogmundson continues. “So maybe that’s the real difference between Vancouver and Toronto: we don’t have a real over-supply of units that would put that much downward pressure on prices.”

He adds, “It’s not as bad as Toronto.”

Pricing strategies 

Carolyn Pogue, a Realtor with Royal LePage Sterling, has been helping clients buy and sell condo properties throughout Metro Vancouver for almost a decade. When on the listing side, she implements tried and true pricing strategies based on current market conditions: 

You price low with the hope you drive multiple offers, you price at fair market value anticipating a quick sale with little negotiation or you price it high with the expectation that buyers will negotiate, and it will likely take longer to sell. 

“If interest rates keep decreasing and the buyer demand gets a little bit more intense like we’ve started to see in the last month, I do feel like 2025 will be a strong market,” Pogue shares. “I do think it will still be price-sensitive though. In terms of pricing strategy, what we’re seeing more of is either fair market value or slightly higher, with buyers negotiating off that price.” 

The pre-sale dilemma 

The sales data tells a similar story; while sales are slightly down, prices aren’t going down with them. Stefan Greiner, vice president of advisory at Zonda’s closely monitors the market, resale and presale.

“There is a significant gap in the new home market between released and unsold inventory (14,096 condominium apartments in Q3-2024) and quarterly sales (1,926 in Q3-2024),” he explains. “Sales are down 38 per cent from last year and down 45 per cent from the historical average, while active listings are up 75 per cent from last year—twice as high as the historical average.”

Greiner points out, “Buyers have choice, and builders are offering significant incentives to attract buyers.”

In the Greater Toronto Area, some of these incentives have included items such as free parking spaces, mortgage assistance and reduced deposits as developers and builders face the rising costs of construction. 

“We are at a considerable risk of some of the released and unsold units being pulled from the market, which will lead to lower condo listings in the future,” Greiner continues. “When, in reality, we should be ramping up construction and incentivizing builders to build, build, build.”

Pogue noted that this year she saw real estate developers in Metro Vancouver try to entice buyers with what she calls “pretty aggressive assignment benefits.” She explains, “We’ve seen a few that are zero assignment fee, or with a small $1,000 assignment…But the biggest thing with assignments that we find is it’s always at the developer’s discretion. So, they could say there’s no assignment fee, but when the time comes and if the seller wants to potentially assign their unit, the developer, they might not allow it.”

The future of the condo market in Canada’s largest cities 

Greiner has seen encouraging trends, particularly in the re-sale market, that could carry over into 2025. “With anticipated interest rate reductions in the coming months, we expect to see buyers re-engaging, which will lead to increased sales activity initially within the re-sale segment, before extending to the new home market”, he says. “However,  bringing new condominium apartments to market will remain a significant challenge due to persistently high construction costs, fees, approval timelines and taxes.”

CIBC predicts that the condo market will continue to favour buyers into 2025 but anticipates that the surplus in inventory will eventually be absorbed. Inversely, this anticipated demand could be met with a swing back to supply issues, with pre-sale activity at a multi-decade low. 2026 and 2027 could see a continued market dis-equilibrium, with future significant upward pressure on condo prices.

Home sales in Metro Vancouver jumped 31.9 per cent in October compared with the same month last year, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR). The real estate board says the strong sales are a sign buyers may be responding to lower interest rates. 

“To some market watchers, this rebound may come as a surprise, but with four consecutive rate cuts from the Bank of Canada—and more likely to come on the horizon—it was only a matter of time until signs of renewed strength in demand showed up,” explains Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics.

Sales slightly below 10-year average

There were 2,632 residential sales registered on MLS in the region, 5.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average, after months of tracking approximately 20 per cent below the trendline. 

New listings jump nearly 17%

The board says 5,452 properties were newly listed on Metro Vancouver’s MLS, a 16.9 per cent increase year-over-year and 20 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. 

“While the strength in October’s numbers is encouraging, one data point does not make a trend,” Lis says. “Recent data shows that market conditions have been decidedly balanced, with prices easing over the past few months. With the recent uptick in sales however, the attached and apartment segments are now tilting toward a seller’s market with the detached segment not far behind, suggesting the recent period of price moderation may be nearing an end.”

HPI down slightly

The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is $1.17-million—a 1.9 per cent decrease over October 2023 and a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to September 2024.

Canada’s luxury housing market stabilized in this year’s third quarter, with moderating growth in Toronto and Vancouver as the effects of population growth and declining mortgage rates offset a slowing economy and wavering consumer confidence.

According to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s Top-Tier Real Estate: Fall 2024 State of Luxury Report, these conditions have shifted luxury condominium markets in both major cities into buyers’ territory, with supply outpacing demand and prices stabilizing.

Toronto: Modest gains in luxury single-family homes

In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), luxury real estate sales over $4 million remained steady, with a 3.0 per cent year-over-year increase between July and August 2024. Single-family homes priced over $4 million saw a 4.0 per cent rise in sales, while the luxury condominium market softened, with a 25 per cent decline in $4 million-plus condominium sales compared to last year.

September data showed a continued trend, with GTA residential sales over $4 million increasing 9.0 per cent year-over-year. However, condominium sales remained flat, with just one luxury sale, mirroring last year’s figures.

Vancouver: Market cools amid election uncertainty

Vancouver’s luxury real estate market faced softer sales in Q3 2024. Sales of homes priced over $4 million fell 13 per cent compared to summer 2023 levels, while single-family home sales dropped 16 per cent. Consumer uncertainty surrounding the upcoming provincial election contributed to the decline.

In September, Vancouver’s luxury market saw a significant 52 per cent drop in $4 million-plus home sales, with no luxury condominium sales recorded. Overall residential sales over $1 million were down 31 per cent year-over-year.

Montreal: Luxury market strengthens

Montreal’s top-tier real estate market saw notable growth, with $1 million-plus sales increasing 15 per cent in Q3 2024 compared to the same period last year. Though sales of homes over $4 million were down from last year, the market remains strong heading into the fall, with September $1 million-plus residential sales surging 83 per cent year-over-year.

Calgary: Leading the luxury market surge

Calgary continues to outperform other major Canadian cities, driven by population growth and strong demand. Luxury sales over $1 million rose 31 per cent year-over-year in Q3 2024, with the market poised for further growth as sales climbed 15 per cent in September, including two properties sold over $4 million.

Favourable conditions for buyers

Sotheby’s president and CEO, Don Kottick, notes that buyers are encountering some of the most favourable conditions in years as top-tier property listings increase and housing prices stabilize. While the market is expected to remain stable in the short term, Kottick warns that population growth and rising building costs will continue to fuel competition for luxury properties in the future.

“This trend is especially evident in the once fiercely competitive markets of Vancouver and Toronto, as well as across the luxury condominium sector,” Kottick highlights. “Over the longer term, there’s no doubt that population growth will intensify competition for housing … There’s an opportunity to take advantage of the favourable homebuying conditions we’re seeing today.”

Kottick also highlights that the cumulative effect of interest rate cuts has permeated market sentiment, boosting confidence and spurring transactions. Should additional rate cuts occur before year-end, luxury home sales could see a substantial boost.

Review the full report, including detailed findings, here.

When Raven Woods, a master-planned development located in the Roche Point neighbourhood of Metro Vancouver’s North Shore, was originally built, it was one of the first businesses in North Vancouver to sell residential units on leasehold land.

Leasehold land, according to the government of British Columbia, is: 

A long-term residential leasehold is a form of homeownership where a person (the lessee or leaseholder) purchases from the owner of a building (the lessor or leasehold landlord) the right to occupy a premise for a long-term, fixed period (more than 20 years, and usually for 99 years, on first sale). This is sometimes referred to as “prepaying the lease.”

In the case of Raven Woods, the land belongs to the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, who traditionally held the territory.

A rocky road to the shift in sentiment toward leasehold

Cal Pye, a realtor now with Babych Group Realty, was part of the original sales and marketing team for the project. Having worked in the area for over three decades, Pye has seen a shift in sentiment toward leasehold properties over the years.

But it hasn’t been a straightforward line getting there.

“The leasehold aspect has always been a contentious issue with those that don’t educate themselves about the details,” he points out. “But the confidence of the investment and the huge community spirit of Raven Woods has overcome the fears associated with the lease (from) when we started in 1994.

The buyers and their realtors who do some due diligence on the value and the community soon realize what a wonderful place (it is) to live while being comfortable with the ownership details.”

Leasehold land: A previous stigma preventing people from understanding nuances & benefits — but much of what’s left

Sarah-Jane Copeland, lands manager with Cheam First Nation, also contributes her thoughts on how people think about and work with leasehold land:

“People’s perceptions and understanding of leasehold land has changed a lot over the past decade,” she notes. Before, “(They) just wanted to kind of hide it, not really have it at the forefront.”

But Copeland believes that this previous stigma prevented people from truly understanding the nuances at hand.

“There are actually quite a lot of benefits to leasehold land as well,” she adds. “Usually there’s no property transfer tax, tax rates could be lower, it’s all different. But I think currently the reality of the situation is that First Nations land (includes) some of the only large land masses that we have left, especially since Metro Vancouver is very geographically constrained.”

‘Everyone has to start somewhere’ but education and partnership are keys to success

Copeland advocates for accessing and developing these large parcels of land to help address growing housing pressure needs, but to do so in a way that truly understands the needs of the Indigenous bands she works with.

The key word, according to Copeland? Partnership.

“I think the main thing is making sure that all parties involved have an understanding of the main goal you’re working toward and being respectful of the laws and policies that these First Nations already have,” she shares.

Aiden Mauti is a Toronto-based consultant with Creative Fire, a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned consulting and communications firm.

Like Copeland and Pye, he believes in the significance of both education and partnership when it comes to real estate sales and marketing practices for leasehold properties on Indigenous land.

For realtors who are interested in learning more but aren’t sure how, Mauti’s advice would be to just get started.

“It’s such a journey that there’s always going to be a critique, there’s always going to be a different opinion of what ‘good’ looks like,” Mauti says. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

A journey that’s just starting

And while land acknowledgements and showing support on Truth and Reconciliation Day are major steps in progress toward national attention and recognition of Indigenous issues, Mauti believes that the journey for Canadians is just getting started.

“I think there’s just a lot more learning to happen on what reconciliation really means, beyond an orange shirt or even what we see in the industry of wanting to just hire more Indigenous people for the sake of it,” he adds.

The real estate development space has seen a rise of Indigenous-led projects, such as kʷasən Village and Sen̓áḵw in Metro Vancouver, and YZD in Toronto. The land’s history has been incorporated and welcomed, rather than avoided, in their ongoing sales and marketing efforts, with the Squamish nation calling the Sen̓áḵw project “reconciliation in action.”

Resurgence over reconciliation

Mauti reflects on the words of Kahnawà:ke Mohawk writer, researcher, policy analyst and political strategist Taiaiake Alfred:

“Taiaiake talks a lot more about resurgence over reconciliation,” he notices. “A resurgence of cultures — how could we enable the next generation of Indigenous people to support their own self-determination, for whatever that might look like.”

Something to consider both within the real estate industry and beyond.

Photo credit: aquilinidevelopment.com

Home sales in Metro Vancouver decreased by 3.8 per cent year-over-year in September, signaling that recent reductions in borrowing costs have yet to significantly boost demand, Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) reports.

The region saw 1,852 residential sales in September, down from 1,926 in the same period last year. This figure is also 26 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,502.

“Real estate watchers have been monitoring the data for signs of renewed strength in demand in response to recent mortgage rate reductions, but the September figures don’t offer the signal that many are watching for,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics explains. “Sales continue trending roughly 25 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average in the region, which, believe it or not, is a trend that has been in place for a few years now.

Lis adds that although sales are now tracking slightly below GVR’s forecast, they remain optimistic that 2024 sales will still end up higher than 2023’s.

Market overview

There were 6,144 new listings in September, a 12.8 per cent increase from last year and 16.7 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. Properties listed for sale in Metro Vancouver totalled 14,932 units, up 31.2 per cent from September 2023.

The overall sales-to-active listings ratio was 12.8 per cent, with detached homes at 9.1 per cent, attached homes at 16.9 per cent and apartments at 14.6 per cent. 

‘All signs pointing to further (rate) reductions; it’s not inconceivable that demand may still pick up later this fall’

The increase in new listings has provided buyers with more options, leading to downward pressure on prices and a buyer’s market. “With two more policy rate decisions to go this year, and all signs pointing to further reductions, it’s not inconceivable that demand may still pick up later this fall should buyers step off the sidelines,” Lis notes.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver now stands at $1,179,700, reflecting a 1.8 per cent year-over-year decrease and a 1.4 per cent decline from August 2024. 

Detached homes

Sales of detached homes dropped 9.8 per cent compared to last year, with 516 units sold in September. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,022,200, a 0.5 per cent increase year-over-year but down 1.3 per cent from August.

Apartment homes

Apartment sales fell 4.9 per cent, with 940 units sold. The benchmark price for an apartment is $762,000, marking a 0.8 per cent decline year-over-year and month-over-month.

Attached homes

Attached homes, however, saw a 7.4 per cent increase in sales year-over-year, totaling 378 units. The benchmark price for townhomes is $1,099,200, down 0.5 per cent from September 2023 and 1.8 per cent from August.

Review the full report here.

“Just minutes away from local schools, shopping centres and recreation facilities … ”

As one of the most commonly used phrases by realtors when describing their properties for sale, one doesn’t actually see “close proximity to hospitals” nearly as often as its more popular counterparts. But for real estate builders and developers with upcoming health care facility projects, it soon became apparent that local health care workers would be making up a sizable segment of their future home buyers.

Health care workers: Quite interested in living close to work

Barrett Sprowson, vice president of sales and project marketing at Peterson Real Estate based in Vancouver, shared his thoughts on this. One of the developer’s current projects, Ashleigh, is located in the Oakridge area of Vancouver — traditionally known as a “medical” neighbourhood in the city.

“We didn’t particularly think about health care workers specifically as a segment early on,” says Sprowson. 

But with a concentration of medical facilities nearby, as well as BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, the idea of living close to where they work appears to be of great interest to those in the health care sector.

“Now we have lots of people coming into our presentation centre who are in the medical field in some form: doctors, dentists, registered nurses, physiotherapists,” he adds.

Higher price points out of reach for many in the profession

But with a wide disparity in income within the health care sector — a doctor can make up to $335,000 per year in British Columbia while a medical office assistant can make as little as $17.40 an hour — Sprowson is aware that the price points in this popular neighbourhood might not be attainable for everyone.

“It is a slightly higher price point,” he acknowledges. “So it has a slightly skinnier appeal in those terms.”

‘Building for humans’ despite affordability challenges

Celina Villarroel Whiting works as a practicing kinesiologist and facilities health care worker in Vancouver. However, she and her husband have chosen to live further away from her work in nearby Burnaby, with cost being the biggest factor.

“I think if we had the choice, I would have preferred to be closer to work,” shares Whiting. “In my department specifically, everyone is commuting from somewhere else.”

But despite these challenges in affordability, Peterson still aims for the principle of “building for humans” in its homes. For example, when considering the suite mix of the Ashleigh project, the team considered how they could design the space to fit as diverse a population as possible.

“We want to fit the widest range of humans possible,” continues Sprowson. “(Considering) what we’ve seen in the past, we think ‘Maybe we need this percentage of one, two or three-bedroom homes in our suite mix,’ or ‘What kind of amenities would support the type of lifestyle that people might want to have?’” These are the types of questions his team addresses.

Nearby hospital a major decision factor

Arvind Grewal is the CEO of Meritus Group, a real estate developer primarily focused on the ever-growing Fraser Valley region in B.C. One of its future residential projects is close to Mission Memorial Hospital. When they made an offer on the property in 2021, the hospital was a major factor in their decision.

“We were lucky enough that it was a big chunk of land that we could build our desired community within close proximity to all of that,” shares Grewal. 

Mix of complementary commercial tenants to existing hospital & infrastructure a ‘key priority’

Meritus Group had previously donated over $500,000 to the hospital for a new CT scanner back in 2022. Grewal hopes to continue building on this relationship as the company looks ahead to planning and building its future project. The current surrounding area is primarily made up of single detached homes, but the first two phases of the project will comprise multi-family residential units with commercial space below. Having a mix of commercial tenants that complement the existing hospital and infrastructure is a key priority for Grewal and his team.

“For a developer, it’s very significant whether a physician or a pharmacist comes into those commercial spaces,” he says. “But I think that’s something where we need to step in and have more of a careful approach into who we bring into those tenanted spaces.”

Homes can be healthy too, with plenty of light, air & access to nature

For health care workers, often surrounded by clinical spaces, Sprowsen believes that homes for these professionals can be healthy as well — albeit in a different way. Unique landscaping items, such as edible plants, garden plants and tree retention, have been incorporated into the Ashleigh project.

Growing up in Malawi, southeastern Africa, Sprowson’s mother was a horticulturist: “She would tell you a healthy building is one that has lots of greenery and plants,” he shares. “Light, air, access to nature … That, to my mind, is the foundation for a healthy building.”

Billions of dollars spent on renovations and infill development during the pandemic have boosted the overall value of residential housing and supported higher prices for single-family homes in Toronto and Vancouver, despite broader market pressures, according to the 2024 Re/Max Canada Changing Landscapes Report.

National spending on home renovations up 8% to nearly $300 billion — Toronto and Vancouver lead the way

The report highlights how ongoing revitalization efforts in these cities have significantly impacted housing supply and affordability, especially in urban cores. From 2019 to 2023, national spending on home renovations — including additions, upgrades and equipment — reached nearly $300 billion, an 8.0 per cent increase from the previous five years. Toronto and Vancouver were at the forefront of this trend.

Contrastingly, throughout the same time, residential building permits for single-family homes in the Toronto and Vancouver Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) totaled just over $27 billion — a near-24 per cent decline from the previous five years and a trend that’s expected to continue.

However, the value of permits for multi-family housing rose by 60 per cent from 2014-2018.

“With all available tracts of land in the city committed to high-density construction, the single-detached home is quickly becoming a unicorn,” says Re/Max Canada president Christopher Alexander.

“Existing homeowners who can’t find what they want in the market will buy an older home in an area of their choice and renovate or build their vision. We expect this trend will strengthen in the years to come and serve to drive price growth in single-detached housing even further. There are a variety of variables at play, but renovation and revitalization is having significant implications for housing supply and affordability.”

Revitalization & gentrification

Revitalization is still one of the most underestimated elements impacting rising housing values.

Renovation and infill development have transformed neighborhoods, particularly in areas where land values have far outpaced the value of existing homes. Older bungalows and two-storey homes are being replaced by custom-built houses, changing the face of working-class areas into desirable hotspots.

The report also highlights gentrification, particularly in Vancouver, where single-detached homes are growing larger, while condominium units are shrinking. Despite the overall decline in single-family home numbers, new construction has led to bigger houses in the Vancouver CMA, with the average home size reaching 3,600 square feet — the largest among major Canadian cities.

In Toronto, the number of vacant land properties dropped significantly (by 6,680) between 2019 and 2021, reducing opportunities for new single-family developments. As much as 30 per cent of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)’s housing stock was built before 1960, making renovation a key strategy for updating older homes.

Stable prices: Those who can make their moves now vs later may be better off

Renovation activity, combined with rising affluence and intergenerational wealth transfers, continues to impact the housing market. The average price of a detached home in the GTA has increased by almost 35 per cent between 2019 and 2023, rising from $1.05 million to $1.42 million. In Vancouver, detached home prices have climbed nearly 38 per cent over the same period, from $1.42 million to $1.96 million.

However, Alexander points out that prices are currently stable compared to 2023: “Those in a position to make their moves now may be better positioned than those in 2025, as prices currently remain close to year-ago levels in the Toronto CMA and modestly higher in the Vancouver CMA.”

As Canada’s major cities continue to evolve, Re/Max expects that renovation and infill development will play an even larger role in shaping the housing market in the years to come. 

“The detached housing supply in urban centres is in the midst of a monumental metamorphosis that will unquestionably impact housing inventory and composition for further generations of real estate consumers,” notes Alexander.

Review the full report here.