A year of shifting momentum amid rising rates and low inventories made for challenges and uncertainty in our real estate market last year. After a record-setting 2021, it turned out we’d see a few more twists and turns before closing out 2022 on a path towards stability. We ended the year with 15,273 sales, well off the records posted in 2021 and 2020, and back to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Benchmark prices took a similar ride, peaking at $1.2M in March (nearly $1.8M for detached homes!) before closing out the year at $955,000, down about nine per cent on the year, but 40% higher than three years ago.

Those of us who have been in the profession for any length of time know that market swings go with the territory, and any REALTOR® worth his or her salt has the experience and insight to draw upon to ride the peaks and weather the troughs. Our clients count on our expertise even more than we do. Where market volatility might present a challenge for us, it’s downright treacherous for families who wonder how they’ll ever be able to find a home. And this is where we truly earn our keep, because beyond simply transacting a house sale or purchase at a fair price, we have an even greater duty to our clients: a duty of trust.

Because they’re not merely clients. They’re families with dreams; immigrants looking for a new start, young families looking for their first home, empty nesters looking to downsize. They’re our friends and neighbours. Doing good by them strengthens the fabric of the entire community, and when we take care of the communities that have given our profession so much, the results will take care of themselves. It's what makes this profession so rewarding and why I am proud to be a member of the FVREB family.

Those of us who have been in the profession for any length of time know that market swings go with the territory, and any REALTOR worth his or her salt has the experience and insight to draw upon to ride the peaks and weather the troughs. Our clients count on our expertise even more than we do. Where market volatility might present a challenge for us, it’s downright treacherous for families who wonder how they’ll ever be able to find a home. And this is where we truly earn our keep, because beyond simply transacting a house sale or purchase at a fair price, we have an even greater duty to our clients: a duty of trust.

Because they’re not merely clients. They’re families with dreams; immigrants looking for a new start, young families looking for their first home, empty nesters looking to downsize. They’re our friends and neighbours. Doing good by them strengthens the fabric of the entire community, and when we take care of the communities that have given our profession so much, the results will take care of themselves. It's what makes this profession so rewarding and why I am proud to be a member of the FVREB family.

President