The RE/MAX® brand delivers notable advantages – for agents with a RE/MAX brokerage

As the 2024 RE/MAX vs. The Industry report shows, RE/MAX agents are the most productive, meaning they close more transaction sides than other real estate agents, on average. In fact, RE/MAX agents closed an average of 11.8 transaction sides throughout 2023, nearly double that of the competition

But productivity isn’t the only place RE/MAX shines. The annual report, which ranks the results of national, full-service brokerage brands in the U.S., also highlights that the balloon-backed brand dominated in unaided brand awareness at 36.4%. 

Canadian mortgage payments went from virtually nothing to very high

Canadian mortgage payments went from virtually nothing to the highest level in well over a decade, inflicting pain on mortgage borrowers. However, the value of homes also surged. In fact, from the rate cuts that sent home prices surging in March 2020 to the end of 2023, the growth rate of home prices outpaced the increase in the average mortgage payment on file at Equifax. This was true in most of Canada’s largest cities, especially in Eastern Canada where the average household’s payment significantly lagged home price growth. 

Canadian Home Values Climbed Faster Than Mortgage Payments

B.C. housing market showing signs of marginal improvement

B.C.’s housing market saw a slight improvement in March as home sales nudged higher following a 5.9-per-cent decline in February. Sales increased 0.7 per cent to reach 5,866 unit sales. Home prices rose 1.8 per cent. This said, housing momentum has waned in the last few months as buyer sentiment shifted amid interest rate uncertainty.

MLS home sales increased in most of the province’s real estate board areas. The Greater Vancouver area saw home sales increase by 1.4 per cent following a decline in the previous month. In Chilliwack, home sales increased only slightly—by just 0.5 per cent—while the Kootenays reported a 17.2-per-cent increase. Home sales also rose 9.4 per cent on Vancouver Island, and were unchanged in the Fraser Valley. However, the Okanagan-Mainline and South Okanagan areas recorded sales declines of 8.9 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.

Lethbridge industrial market strengthens as options limited

Western Canada’s industrial markets are at an inflection point as demand normalizes and the pause that hit new construction last year begins to make itself felt.

Conservative market sentiment is now creating the conditions for stronger performance in 2024, Avison Young reports, with cities like Lethbridge poised to see a landlord’s market for industrial space.

Lethbridge reported a 4.1 per cent vacancy rate in the first quarter, up from 4 per cent at the end of 2023. But space under construction is down more than half from last year to 50,000 square feet, creating potential supply constraints.

High-tech sensors in workplaces, postal-code analysis among tools for real estate strategies.

Driven by persistent return-to-in-person challenges, local companies are leveraging office space data to optimize the physical spaces they occupy.

Employee commute times and office space utilization data are informing companies’ strategies for encouraging in-person work and optimizing office layouts to meet long-term goals, according to those who spoke toBIV.

“As companies are revisiting or choosing to revisit their office space, they’re looking at a year to two years of real good data of who’s coming in, how often, what are they doing and what’s the purpose of the office for those people,” said Alain Rivère, vice-president of the high technologies group at CBRE.

Detached home starts decline as condo, townhome starts boom in 2023

The West Coast housing market saw a significant boost in construction activity last year, according to a new report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC).

The annualBC Check-Up: Investreport found that construction began on 35,553 housing units in southwest B.C. during the year, a 20.9 per cent jump compared with 2022. This marks the highest number of housing starts ever recorded in the region.

“Our members living in the Lower Mainland have consistently reported that housing prices are the biggest challenge facing B.C. businesses,” said Lori Mathison, president and CEO of CPABC, said in an April 18 statement.

B.C. experts urge more budget spending to tackle housing crisis

Industry experts are still hoping for some housing-related budget surprises, despite federal spending details being pretty much an open book ahead of this week’s unveiling.

“We don't often know what's going to be in the budget until it's released, but it seems that approach has changed,” said Jill Atkey, CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA).

“When a budget gets released all in one day, with billions and billions of dollars in spending, each of those initiatives doesn't really get the attention that it potentially deserves. So, it's nice to have a bit more of a focus on housing in the lead-up.”