November 2021:
The Greater Victoria real estate market is experiencing unprecedented times due mainly to the lack of listing inventory which is putting a significant strain on the housing market. With so few homes available, sales have decreased while prices are still heading in an upward direction, creating a frustrating environment for buyers trying desperately to find homes for their families. I have never seen a market like this and there appears to be no signs of it changing for months to come. The one game changer appears to be inflation. If the current inflation levels increase further, then the Bank of Canada will have no choice but to increase interest rates sooner than anticipated, which usually leads to a slow down of the housing market with increased listing inventory resulting in a decrease in prices. Eventually this will happen but when is the big unknown at this time. In the meantime, enjoy the November rain and try to stay dry.
Below are the statistics for the month of September 2021.
Listing Inventory:
There were 1,036 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of October 2021, 51.2 % fewer properties than the 2,122 available at the end of October 2020 and 7.8 % fewer properties than the 1,124 active listings for sale at the end of September 2021. The benchmark 10 year average is 3200 listings at this time. There are currently under 1000 listings on the market in all categories and prices on the lower island. This downward spiral of inventory is not sustainable, and is only putting unwarranted increases in pricing and making it very difficult for buyers. If you are selling and not buying in this market, then you couldn’t have picked a better time to sell.
Sales:
A total of 745 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this October, 24.7 % fewer than the 990 properties sold in October 2020 and 2.1 % fewer than the previous month of September. Condominium sales were down 18.1 % from October 2020 with 249 units sold. 18.6 % fewer condominiums sold in October 2021 than in the previous month of September. Sales of single family homes were down 30.4 % from October 2020 with 339 sold. 2.4 % more single family homes sold in October 2021 than in the previous month of September. I believe that the only reason for the decrease in sales numbers is due to the decrease in the number of homes for sale. There appears to be a significant number of buyers from our area and from across Canada and abroad that are all wanting to buy real estate in our region but have no selection to choose from.
Average Prices:
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in October 2020 was $880,500. The benchmark value for the same home in October 2021 increased by 25.3 % to $1,103,600, a 0.3 % increase from the previous month of September. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core in October 2020 was $482,200, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in October 2021 increased by 14.4 % to $551,800. Again, condos are leading the way for price increases due to the affordability level. Yet single family home prices still increased slightly from the previous month and significantly from one year ago. Who would have thought that almost 2 years in from COVID that the average price for a home in Victoria would be over $1.1million! As john Lennon would say, strange days indeed.
View Full Statistics Package
https://www.vreb.org/pdf/VREBNewsReleaseFull.pdf
Victoria Historical Statistics
