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 646 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this January, 57.2 per cent more than the 411 properties sold in January 2020 and 2.4 per cent more than the previous month of December. Sales of condominiums were up 83.1 per cent from January 2020 with 216 units sold. Sales of single family homes were up 48.5 per cent from January 2020 with 297 sold.
“Our bustling market continues to be fuelled by strong consumer demand to own a home in Greater Victoria, driven in part by low interest rates and by the overall desirability of our larger community,” said Victoria Real Estate Board President David Langlois. “This continuing demand, coupled with our record low inventory, has resulted in competition for desirable properties. The competition for sparse inventory has pushed both pricing and activity up and has created the very fast-paced market that we’ve been experiencing for the past several months.”
There were 1,321 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of January 2021, 32.5 per cent fewer properties than the total available at the end of January 2020 but a 3.3 per cent increase from the 1,279 active listings for sale at the end of December 2020.
“The luxury home market continues to significantly outpace previous years,” adds Langlois. “For example, in January 2020, four homes over two million dollars sold. This January, twenty-five sold. We also see a continued strengthening in the condominium market across all price points. Right now, navigating both the buying and selling process is challenging. With many moving pieces and in such a fast-paced market it’s important to leverage the experience and expertise of your trusted local REALTOR®.”
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in January 2020 was $860,700. The benchmark value for the same home in January 2021 increased by 8.3 per cent to $932,000, a 1.8 per cent increase from the previous month of December. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core in January 2020 was $523,400, while the benchmark for the same condominium in January 2021 remained close to last year’s value at $518,800, a 0.9 per cent decrease.
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