VREB June 2009 Report

Housing Sales Surge

 

The arrival of summer saw a significant surge in property sales throughout the Greater Victoria area along with modest price increases for single family homes and townhomes. A total of 946 homes and other properties sold in June through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), up over seven per cent from the 879 sales in May and up 31 per cent compared to the 723 sales in June of last year.

 

Victoria Real Estate Board President, Chris Markham, says the market has regained strength faster than anticipated, “For the past couple of months we have seen growing strength in the market as many people who were waiting to see which direction the market would move in have decided now is the time to buy. However, the rebound has been stronger than we anticipated and this looks good for the coming months.” Markham noted that the number of sales in June was very close to the 949 sales in June of 2007 -- the peak of the recent market.

 

There were 3,794 properties available for sale at the end of June, down 16 per cent from the 4,513 properties available in the same month a year ago. “The decline in the number of properties available for sale is making it more of a challenge for REALTORS® to find the kinds of homes buyers are looking for,” noted Markham. “The drop in available inventory is also reflected in the price increases for single family homes and townhomes that we saw last month,” he added. There were 26 sales of single family homes of over $1 million throughout Greater Victoria, including one in Oak Bay of over $5 million.

 

The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $588,186, up from $573,442 in May. The median price also rose to $529,900. The six-month average was $559,827. The overall average price for condominiums was $298,200 month, down slightly from $306,971 in May. The average for the last six months was $294,725. The median price for condominiums in June was $275,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month was $413,218, up from $400,788 in May. The median price remained unchanged at $375,000. The six month average was $401,829.

 

MLS® sales last month included 539 single family homes, 242 condominiums, 104 townhomes and 18 manufactured homes.

 

While the use of average price information can be useful in establishing trends when applied over a period of time, i.e. six months or longer. The Victoria Real Estate Board cautions that an average price does not indicate the actual value of any particular property. Those requiring specific information on property values should contact a REALTOR®.