The Whistler real estate market was a bit of a roller coaster in 2022.
The first two months of the year resembled the fast pace of 2021, but sales slowed significantly throughout the remainder of the year. This came as a function of economic uncertainty, with a poor-performing stock market and rapid interest rate increases, and an overall misalignment of buyer and seller expectations.
Whistler Real Estate Market
In Whistler, there were a total of 564 sales (excluding parking stalls) in 2022. This is lower than we have seen in recent years but more in line with sales volumes from 2017-2019. Meanwhile, 2022 had the second-highest sales dollar volume in the past 10 years with just over $1 billion in total market sales volume.
Despite lower or falling property prices in certain regions of the country, prices in Whistler remained strong. The median sales price of a Whistler property in 2022 was $1,200,000 which is up from $1,050,000 in 2021 and a significant increase from $823,600 in 2019.
In regards to inventory, Whistler started the year off at historic lows, and inventory has increased slightly throughout the year, but still sits about 40% below the 10-year average.
The luxury market remained strong throughout 2022. There were 55 sales over $4 Million over the course of the year, with a top sale price of $17,250,000. The total number of luxury sales was down slightly from 2021, which was a record-setting year with 68 sales. Despite other market segments slowing down throughout the year, sales in the luxury segment remained quite active and showed little to no signs of a slowdown.
International buyers accounted for just shy of 12% of property purchases and approximately 18% of the market in terms of dollar volume. While the percentage of international buyers doubled from 2021, fueled by the opening of Canada’s borders back in the spring, this is still lower than historic levels as international buyers typically represent about 20% of the market. As a reminder, both Whistler and Pemberton are exempt from Canada’s foreign buyer ban and are still open to international investment despite the ban, which we believe may drive some market activity for non-Canadians who are looking to purchase property in the Sea to Sky corridor.
Looking to 2023, we expect sales to pick up and prices to remain steady as the Whistler market is bolstered by limited supply and high demand.