Low inventory and strong demand continue in Victoria real estate market
A total of 942 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this June, 16.6 per cent more than the 808 properties sold in June 2020, but 10.2 per cent fewer than the previous month of May. Condominium sales were up 61.7 per cent from June 2020 with 338 units sold. 4 per cent more condominiums sold in June 2021 than in the previous month of May. Sales of single family homes were down 4.3 per cent from June 2020 with 440 sold. 18.1 per cent fewer single family homes sold in June 2021 than in the previous month of May.
“We are at a point now where we can look at yearly comparisons with a new lens,” said Victoria Real Estate Board President David Langlois. “In recent months we have been unable to glean anything by comparing year over year numbers because of the sudden and unexpected impact of the pandemic on the 2020 market. But June last year was when the market started its reacceleration. Buyers came back into the market in droves even though listings were restrained compared to long term averages.”
There were 1,375 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of June 2021, 49 per cent fewer properties than the 2,698 available at the end of June 2020 and 5.2 per cent fewer than the 1,450 active listings for sale at the end of May 2021.
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in June 2020 was $896,700. The benchmark value for the same home in June 2021 increased by 18.6 per cent to $1,063,500, a 2.6 per cent increase from the previous month of May. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core in June 2020 was $490,400, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in June 2021 was $531,100, an 8.3 per cent increase.
“We see now even more sales activity than the return to the market we saw last year,” added Langlois. “And our inventory is much more restricted, with more than thirteen hundred fewer listings for sale than the year previous. We can see the strong impact this shrinking supply has had on year over year prices. There are many factors we need to watch while this summer’s market unfolds, including the change in borrowing rules that may impact first time buyers, declining levels of inventory and demand from outside of the province as tourism and travel reopens. Speak with your REALTOR® if you’d like fresh insight into our current market.”
