January 2022:
Hope you are all having a good start to the year. The Omicron wave has been very unsettling over the last few weeks. Let’s hope the Covid numbers have peaked and are now on there way down. The real estate market has started off with a bang! Prices are at record levels and listing inventory levels are at record lows. This has resulted in multiple interest from buyers for properties and continued price increases. It is hard to say when this will change but with interest rates poised to increase in the coming months to slow inflation, the result could be a softening of prices if inventory levels increase. This could help to start to balance the market and ease upward price pressures. It will be an interesting year for sure. Stay tuned…
Below are the statistics for the month of December 2021.
Listing Inventory:
There were 652 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of December 2021, a decrease of 26.5 % compared to the previous month of November and a 49 % decrease from the 1,279 active listings for sale at the end of December 2020. This represents the lowest inventory of active listings at month-end in at least the last 25 years. This 652 active listings covers all types of properties (lots, mobiles, condos, townhouses, single family homes, commercial properties) from all of Greater Victoria, Sooke, up to Cobblehill and including the Gulf Islands. This is actually hard to fathom when you look at the population this covers, combined with the continued monthly increase in buyers planning to move to the island, adding further pressure on lowering the inventory.
Sales:
A total of 438 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this December, 30.6 % fewer than the 631 properties sold in December 2020 and a 32.9 % decrease from November 2021. Sales of condominiums were down 22.1 % from December 2020 with 152 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 34.1 % from December 2020 with only 207 sold. These lower sales numbers were mainly due to the lack of inventory for buyers to purchase.
Throughout 2021, a grand total of 10,052 properties sold over the course of the year, 18.3 % more than the 8,497 that sold in 2020. 2021 sales numbers came in close to 2016’s record breaking sales year where 10,622 properties were sold.
Average Prices:
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in December 2020 was $915,300. The benchmark value for the same home in December 2021 increased by a whopping 25.1 % to $1,144,900, up from November’s value of $1,122,600. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in December 2020 was $487,100, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in December 2021 increased by 17.1 % to $570,600, up from the November value of $560,700. Overall, prices soared in 2021 and have continued to rise in December. With low inventory levels continuing into January, prices will most likely continue to rise but they may be close to a peak. The interest rate increases that are planned for 2022 may alter the course somewhat. If sellers decide now is the time to sell, and a flood of listings hit the market, this could turn out to be a good thing for the market and help ease upward price pressures, leading to a more balanced market for both buyers and sellers.
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