March, 2022
The Victoria Real Estate Market is still very busy as the low listing inventory is keeping prices strong while house hunting for buyers remains a challenge. The interest rate increase on March 2nd by the Bank of Canada will not have much impact at this time, but we may see some balancing of the market later in the year if the Bank continues to increase rates at the anticipated amounts throughout 2022.
Below are the statistics for the month of February 2022.
Listing Inventory:
There were 849 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of February 2022, an increase of 14.1 % compared to the previous month of January but a 35.6 % decrease from the 1,318 active listings for sale at the end of February 2021. While listings are up slightly from January, the overall numbers are still significantly below the 2021 numbers, and those were already at extreme lows. An average balanced market is about 3200 listings. We are far from that number.
Sales:
A total of 718 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this February, 16.8 % fewer than the 863 properties sold in February 2021 but a 51.5 % increase from January 2021. Sales of condominiums were down 7.9 % from February 2021 with 267 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 20.8 % from February 2021 with 309 sold. The continued trend over the last few months has been lower sales number from 2021. This appears to be the result of lower inventory and less choice for buyers, coupled with the fact that finding a replacement home is extremely hard, so sellers are reluctant to list their homes for sale. Usually we see a large number of properties hitting the market in March to May, so this should help the market in the coming season.
Average Prices:
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in February 2021 was $948,500. The benchmark value for the same home in February 2022 increased by 26.1 % to $1,196,300, up from January’s value of $1,161,500. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in February 2021 was $494,200, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in February 2022 increased by 22.1 % to $603,600, up from the January value of $587,300. Prices are still going up, and mostly due to the lack of supply of homes for sale. The price increases are substantial from one year ago. It will be interesting to see how the effects of the rising interest rates affect the market in the coming months.
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