2017 was an eventful year in Victoria Real Estate. A low inventory has been a key factor in the market this year. Towards the end of the year we saw more price resistance on higher priced listings in the $1.2 - $2M range while buyers scrambled to purchase condos under $600,000. December recorded the lowest level of inventory for that month since tracking began in 1996 which has contributed to the demand for condos.
Greater Victoria has earned the confidence of high-end investors with a $6.89M sale of a 3,433 sq ft condo in Customs House, a development scheduled for completion in 2020. A sale of an oceanfront single family home in Ten Mile Point was completed at $6M. $12M was recorded on a sale of 97.9 acres of farmland on Old East Road. It has been reported that this will become the site of a $500M licensed Marijuana growing operation. If all goes to plan, the location would become one of the largest marijuana facilities in Canada. As we head into 2018, Sotheby’s reported a record sale of an oceanfront property on the Peninsula in Ardmore for $9M. While these high-end listings do take longer to sell, sophisticated buyers can see the potential of acquiring property in the Victoria area.
Of the 8 sales in 2017 in the $4M - $6M range, five had Sotheby’s agents involved on at least one side of the transaction.
Foreign buyers are definitely not a factor in our local market. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s December issue of Housing Market Insight indicates that 1.1% of the region’s condominiums are owned by non-residents - people whose primary residence is outside of Canada. The local government has reviewed the statistics and is no longer pushing the province to consider a foreign buyers tax.
At the beginning of December 2017 CMHC reported that the Greater Victoria region has seen 3,700 new homes started and it is expected that the final numbers for 2017 will be close to the all-time records set in 1972 with 4,192 and 1973 with 4,013 new homes. Last year there were 2,787 new homes started.
I look forward to hearing from you in 2018!
Glynis
Glynis' Market Snippets: January Edition