Despite signs that sales in the global art market have slowed, Vancouver art auctioneers say they are doing well.

Annual global art market sales declined by 12 per cent last year to an estimated US$57.5 billion, according to the 2025 Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report by Arts Economics.

“This marked the second year of slowing sales, with the main drag on growth being the high end of the market,” the report said.

Those high-end sales, it said, thinned out significantly in 2023 and 2024, creating lower aggregate values despite stronger sales in some lower-priced segments.

The report added that despite the drop in the value of total sales, the number of transactions increased by three per cent, to 40.5 million in 2024.

Vancouver-based Heffel Fine Art Auction House CEO David Heffel told

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