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 329 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this January, 23.7 per cent fewer than the 431 properties sold in January 2018 and a 12.3 per cent decrease from December 2018. Sales of condominiums were down 5.9 per cent from January 2018 with 111 units sold but were up from December 2018 by 7.8 per cent. Sales of single family homes were down 29.3 per cent from January 2018 with 152 sold.
“It’s already an interesting year for local real estate. REALTORS® are keeping busy showing homes and writing offers, however actual sales are slower than we would expect in an average January,” says 2019 Victoria Real Estate Board President Cheryl Woolley. “There are many reasons consumers are hesitant to purchase “For instance, changes to mortgage lending rules have decreased the amount of funds buyers can qualify for by up to twenty-five per cent. In turn, some consumers are re-evaluating their expectations and looking at condos and townhomes rather than single family homes; or they are looking at single family homes further outside the core. As well, many buyers appear to be waiting for new inventory to open up, while sellers are watching the market closely to see what their homes are worth and what the spring market may bring.”
There were 2,057 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of January 2019, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to the month of December and a 38 per cent increase from the 1,491 active listings for sale at the end of January 2018.
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in January 2018 was $840,100. The benchmark value for the same home in January 2019 increased by 0.9 per cent to $847,800, lower than December’s value of $858,600. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in January 2018 was $471,300, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in January 2019 increased by 6 per cent to $499,700, slightly lower than December's value of $502,400.
“Over the past few years, demand in Greater Victoria has outstripped supply, putting upward pressure on pricing. While many of the new developments proposed for our region are being built for much needed rental and social housing units, it will provide little relief for buyers who are caught in the pinch between tougher lending rules and higher prices,” adds President Woolley. “Moving forward, we anticipate continued interest in our region as people gravitate towards our mild climate, beautiful amenities and the lifestyle Greater Victoria offers.”
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