This fall has been full of surprises. The Blue Jays are in the playoffs, the Canucks started out with a bang, The Seahawks are losing, and oh yeah, Canada has a new Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau of the Liberals. I watched CNN for a while after our election results were finished, and low and behold, there was no mention of our election, or that Canada had a new Prime Minister. I guess we are not that newsworthy across the border.
In Victoria, the real estate market has surprised some, as we have experienced a complete turnaround from the 5 year slowdown of 2010 through 2014. However, if you look at my previous blogs, I did see this coming last year, as the listing inventory continued to drop year after year beginning in the summer of 2012, and the number of sales began to increase late last year, and this combined with the record low interest rates, has led to exactly what we are experiencing this year – high sales, higher prices and less homes for sale – resulting in an increase in average prices throughout the region by about 8.6% this year to date.
However, not all regions are up in price, and some are experiencing a slower recovery. Most areas outside of Victoria, like the Westshore, Saanich Peninsula and other outer regions, are not seeing prices increase as much as Saanich East and Oak Bay, which have been leading the way with sales and increased prices this year. So much so that the BC Assessment authority recently stated that most property assessments in Greater Victoria are going to go up by 5-10% in 2016, and possibly above 10% in areas like Oak Bay. The overall trend should see all markets continue to improve in the fall and winter and into 2016. Especially with the announcement this week that the Bank of Canada is not making any changes to its overnight rate. This should result in continued low mortgage interest rates well into 2016.
In the meantime, if you were putting off selling while the market values dropped over the last 5 years, now might be a great time to explore your options again. I have been asked to do a number of evaluations for a lot of my clients this year, and most are surprised to find out that they can get more for their home than they thought. This, coupled with the fact that they have paid down a portion of their mortgage over the last 5 years, puts them in a good position to be able to make that move that they had been putting off over the last few years.
I am always available to provide updated price evaluations, either through email, or a site visit, so please don’t be afraid to ask. This is part of my job, and until you know where you stand price wise, the decision to sell can be very overwhelming. I am always available to answer all of your questions with respect to making a move, whether it is about staging your home for a sale, or suggestions on whether to update or not, or any other changes to improve saleability of your home, to help you maximize your selling price.
Here are a few links to various real estate sources that may be of interest to you:
1. Click on this link and hit “Like” to obtain current postings from my real estate Facebook page: VictoriaBCProperties
2. Click this link for my latest Website Newsletter: Newsletter
3. For the latest historical statistics from the Victoria Real Estate Board, click here: VREBStatistics
4. Search for listing at my Victoria BC Properties website: DaleSheppard.com
All the best to you and your family.
Sincerely, Dale.
