Victoria Real Estate
Market Healthy Heading into Spring
A total
of 675 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this February,
12.6 per cent fewer than the 772 properties sold in February last year.
"Last month we
discussed how 2017 won't match 2016 in terms of huge sales numbers, due to many
factors including the present lack of inventory," says 2017 Board
President Ara Balabanian. "In spite of the low inventory the real estate
market in Victoria
is robust. The ten year average for sales in February is 542, so we are well
within expected numbers for this time of the year with 675 properties sold. In
fact, this February's sales are the second highest in the past ten years. It is
also possible that our market may have been restrained over the course of the
month due to something that is completely normal in many Canadian markets - the
snow fall in the Victoria
area certainly cancelled many open houses and may have put a damper on
sales."
The Multiple Listing
Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the
Victoria Core in February 2016 was $638,700. The benchmark value for the same
home in February 2017 has increased by 21.3 per cent to $775,000.
Inventory levels edged
lower, with 1,537 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board
Multiple Listing Service® at the end of February 2017, 40 per cent fewer than
the 2,562 active listings at the end of February 2016.
"The low number of homes for sale in our
marketplace can put pressure on pricing," adds President Balabanian.
"The good news is we have seen an increase in new listings this month over
January. January saw 753 new listings, while February's count was 880. This
time last year there were 1,160 new listings, so we'll be watching the numbers
in March closely to see if more sellers decide to get into the market as spring
arrives."
The Graph Below shows market activity from February 2016 to February 2017