How the Fraser Valley land market is reacting

Before the industry slowed down for the winter holidays, the first half of December showed an increase in land acquisition activity in the Fraser Valley and a continued positive shift in sentiment. It’s largely a cautious approach among buyers, but with a sense that the worst is likely behind us, it’s rare to find someone not willing to put pen to paper as long as the offer contains reasonable due diligence timing. Confidence grows further still for acquisitions with a completion in 2024 or beyond – opportunities which are becoming available again in small quantities.

Land values are slowly easing off but remain sticky as sellers hold out hope the market will rebound and bring them prices from the peak. The condo land market maintains the most strength in pricing as the end product market sees success in well-located projects.

There’s optimism the lending environment for land will loosen up in the coming months, but for now, it remains the topic of conversation in structuring land deals as it’s both the biggest hurdle for some buyers and a competitive advantage for others. Understandably so, as secondary or private lender rates at 12-14% have tripled the finance expense line item in many developer’s proformas.