Victoria Real Estate Market continues 2014's upward trend
The Victoria Real Estate Board today released its report on real estate activity in the Victoria area for January 2015.
351 properties sold in the Victoria region this January, an increase of 2.6% when compared to the 342 properties sold in the same month last year.
"We don't expect to see big numbers in January. It's a slower month traditionally for real estate," Victoria Real Estate Board President Guy Crozier says. "Even this slight increase after the 11.67% year over year increase in sales we saw in 2014 shows the continued stability of our market. There's also a good balance of inventory available for sale, which will likely appeal to buyers as the spring season hits. Last month while we saw 10 single family homes sold for over a million dollars, there were also 95 homes sold for under $500,000."
At the end of January there were 3,283 active listings for sale on the Multiple Listing Service®, a slight decrease from the 3,489 in January 2014. This continues a trend that started in mid-2013 where there are fewer listings in the market than there were in the same month of the year previous.
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core this time last year was $548,500. The benchmark value for the same home this month has increased by 2.39% to $561,600.
"With the change in mortgage rates surprising some, and the continuing low oil prices and Canadian dollar, the spring real estate market should be an interesting one to watch," Crozier adds.