The Victoria Real Estate Board has released their latest statistics for the month of January. The following is an excerpt from their press release.
A total of 411 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this January, 24.9 per cent more than the 329 properties sold in January 2019 and 2.2 per cent more than in December 2019. Sales of condominiums were up 6.3 per cent from January 2019 with 118 units sold. Sales of single family homes increased 31.6 per cent from January 2019 with 200 sold.
"Our new year is already showing a strong distinction from the year previous," says Victoria Real Estate Board President Sandi-Jo Ayers. "We've returned to more traditional January sales numbers - which tend to be over 400 sales. Unfortunately, we have not seen a corresponding increase in listings alongside the demand, so buyers in the low- to mid-price segment of our market may find themselves in competition for desirable properties. Our market is challenging and at times like these the services of your local REALTOR® are invaluable."
There were 1,958 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of January 2020, 6 properties more than the total available at the end of December 2019 and a 4.8 per cent decrease from the 2,057 active listings for sale at the end of January 2019.
"Pressure on our market has been slowly returning," adds Ayers. "With not enough inventory to satisfy demand, people occupying the middle rung of our property ladder have limited options - which means less movement to make room for those hoping to move or to buy their first homes. Eighteen months ago, the provincial and federal governments introduced demand side measures, which we can now see have not been successful in making homes more attainable in our community. Since demand side measures aren't working, the Board hopes that all levels of government will turn their attention to supply. Our municipalities working with developers to cut red tape and reduce costs should help to introduce more housing opportunities and alleviate some pressure."
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in January 2019 was $846,900. The benchmark value for the same home in January 2020 increased by 1.4 per cent to $858,500, 0.4 per cent more than December's value of $855,000. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in January 2019 was $500,500, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in January 2020 increased by 4.1 per cent to $521,100, slightly more than the December value of $520,700.
This chart tracks the ratio of total residential sales over total active residential listings at month-end for each of the last 25 months. The active listing count and the sales count can be viewed as indicators of housing supply and demand respectively. Observing the ratio between them can thus help indicate a "buyers' market", where there is downward pressure on prices, and a "sellers' market", where there is upward pressure on prices.
below 10%, there is downward pressure on prices (buyers' market)
above 25%, there is upward pressure on prices (sellers' market)
in the 15-20% range, there is little pressure on prices either way