January 2023
I Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season. 2023 is upon us and I wish everyone all the best throughout this year. Real Estate wise, it should be an interesting year as interest rates remain high and prices continue to soften. The future market activity is too hard to predict at the best of times, but even more difficult in these high inflation and high interest rate times. Most forecasters are predicting rates to remain high throughout 2023 and prices to continue to soften. It will be an interesting year for sure…
The BC Tax Assessments have also arrived for 2023, and because these numbers are calculated in July of 2022, most assessments went up in the neighbourhood of 8% -15% on average, while actual prices have dropped over the last 6 months. If you wish to appeal your amount based on the percentage increase, you can do so up until January 31st. See below for the web site that has more information about this process.
Below are some of the statistics for 2023
Listing Inventory:
There were 1,688 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of December 2022, a decrease of 20 % compared to the previous month of November but a 158.9 % increase from the 652 active listings for sale at the end of December 2021.
The overall listing inventory remains low, yet with low monthly sales numbers, the market has become more of a Buyers market. This should continue as we enter the higher listings months between now and late spring. With fewer Buyers qualifying for mortgages, and lower sales numbers predicted for 2023, home list prices need to be fair for today’s market or Buyers will over look them all together.
Sales:
A total of 320 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this December, 26.9 % fewer than the 438 properties sold in December 2021 and a 16.7 % decrease from November 2022. Sales of condominiums were down 38.2 % from December 2021 with 94 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 24.6 % from December 2021 with 156 sold.
A grand total of 6,804 properties sold over the course of 2022, 32.3 % fewer than the 10,052 that sold in 2021. 2022 sales came closest to 2014’s sales year when 6,698 properties were sold. January is starting off in the same fashion with significantly lower numbers than in 2022. Again, Sellers will have a harder time attracting Buyers, so list prices need to be sharp.
Average Prices:
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in December 2021 was $1,262,600. The benchmark value for the same home in December 2022 increased by 1.7 % to $1,283,600, down from November’s value of $1,307,100. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in December 2021 was $544,100, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in December 2022 increased by 5.6 % to $574,300, down from the November value of $587,800.
I don’t foresee a significant drop in prices in 2023, as most of the significant drops appear to have already taken place over the last 6 months. However, it is hard to predict pricing in the future, and most pundits are predicting continued price drops in 2023. If inflation does start to drop in the coming months, we might see some reversal of high interest rates sooner than later. This could halt the price drops as more Buyers become qualified to enter the market and sales numbers increase. However, the timing for this is too hard to predict at this time. Hopefully by late spring there will be a better understanding of where the market is heading. Stay tuned…
If you or any of your family or friends require any real estate related information, feel free to contact Dale at 250-744-0844, or email him through his website: www.dalesheppard.com
