The premier of B.C. announced a four-phase reopening of B.C. on Tuesday following a surreal period of self isolation as we all worked to control the pandemic.
Understandably, the COVID19 virus has had an impact on Greater Victoria’s real estate sales this April. While some sellers chose to postpone listing their homes, buyers opted to stay home, heeding the government advice, and limiting viewings unless moving was critical.
We are seeing increased activity on our listings now as local buyers renew their searches. Out of town inquiries have increased however we do not know when potential buyers will be able to travel to Victoria. For the period from March 15 to April 7th, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada saw a 48% increase year over year on webpage views on www.sothebysrealty.ca.
To assist in obtaining truly qualified buyers, we have selected a few of our listings to host virtual open houses on Facebook Live. These are proving useful as we now can post these very organic events to our website and potential buyers can take this tour before doing a physical viewing of a property.
Year over year, sales were down almost 59% in April in our real estate area. At a time when the real estate market is usually gearing up, listings are down 16.2%. The benchmark price of a family home in the Victoria core in April was $882,700 up from $843,500 in April 2019.
At a Zoom meeting of Victoria real estate agents hosted by Brendon Ogmundson, the B.C. Real Estate Association Chief Economist, said that, "While a recession in Canada and B.C. is at this point unavoidable due to the fallout from the pandemic, we know from history that the housing market bounces back with vigour following recessions, usually aided by a steep drop in interest rates.
“We expect this time around will be no different. Given historically low interest rates and pent-up demand, we expect the impact of this recession will evolve as in the past, with home sales and prices recovering into 2021.”
As B.C. prepares to start going back to work, "The ultimate strength of the recovery will depend on how long the economy remains effectively shut down, as well as the efficacy of federal and provincial measures to bridge households through the financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic," says Ogmundson.
Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 37.1 per cent to $12.9 billion, compared with the same period in 2019. Residential unit sales increased 21.7 per cent to 16,866 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 12.6 per cent to $763,031.
Kirsten and I are open for business with our COVID-19 protocols in effect. We are finding buyers are respectful of these requirements and appreciate the efforts everyone is making.
We trust that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy and look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Glynis and Kirsten