Victoria Real Estate Market Begins The New Year With Low Inventory And High Demand
February 1, 2018
A total of 431 properties sold
in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this January, 9.8 per cent
fewer than the 478 properties sold in January last year. The sales of
condominiums were down 30.6 per cent from last year in January - with
118 sold. Single family homes were 4 per cent down from the previous
year, with 215 selling in the first month of 2018.
"We expected
January to be a bit slower after the increase in activity we saw in
November and December, which was likely due in part to buyers entering
the market early to avoid the new mortgage stress test," says 2018
Victoria Real Estate Board President Kyle Kerr. "We have yet to see the
full effect of the stress test, as many people attained a 90 -120 day
pre-approval before the test became required January 1. We won’t know
how much that stress test will affect the spring market until we see the
numbers, and spring is also the time when sales traditionally pick up."
There were a total of 1,491 active listings for sale on the
Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of
January 2018, an increase of 7.7 per cent compared to the month of
December and 1.6 per cent fewer than the 1,516 active listings for sale
at the end of January 2017.
"2017 concluded with very
constrained inventory levels, which hit record lows early in January.
The lack of inventory in our market is maintaining pressure on pricing,
especially as high demand continues in many areas of Victoria," adds
President Kerr. "We can also see the effects of headwinds influencing
our market in 2018, including attempts to curb demand at all levels of
government. The mortgage stress test is the latest to be introduced, and
we may learn of further measures later this month when the provincial
budget is released. We hope the government takes a balanced approach to
our housing market in their budget and offsets any further demand-side
measures with initiatives aimed at addressing the ongoing supply
shortages for both home buyers and renters. We also encourage our local
governments to take some time to assess the effects of demand-side
measures like the mortgage stress test and recent interest rate hikes
before introducing further restraints on our market."
The
Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single
family home in the Victoria Core in January 2017 was $761,100. The
benchmark value for the same home in January 2018 increased by 9.3 per
cent to $831,900, slightly higher than December’s value of $823,800. HPI
benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria area in January 2017
was $375,300. The benchmark value for the same condo in January 2018
increased by 20.1 per cent to $450,600, which is slightly higher than
December’s value of $445,000.
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