Property Sales Highest in 17 Years
for Month of September
The Victoria area real estate market showed signs of growing strength last month as property sales rose to their highest level for the month of September since 1992 accompanied by modest price increases for single family homes and condominiums. A total of 776 homes and other properties sold in September through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), up from the 764 sales in August and up nearly 50 per cent compared to the 512 sales in September of last year.
Victoria Real Estate Board President, Chris Markham, says the market has clearly recovered and now appears to be very stable, “The last seven months have shown a steady improvement in sales and price stability. It’s very encouraging when we look back over the past several years and see sales now exceeding typical levels for this time of year.”
There were 3,419 properties available for sale at the end of September, down 28 per cent from the 4,754 properties available in the same month a year ago. “We are now seeing some renewed upward pressure on prices as a result of the declining inventory,” noted Markham.
The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $619,936, up from $596,498 in August. Markham noted that the average price was affected by 24 sales of over $1 million. “These included five sales of over $2 million, three in Saanich East, one in Victoria and one on the Gulf Islands which had a significant impact on the overall average price,” he stated.
The median price increased $10,000 to $550,000. The six-month average was $581,498. The overall average price for condominiums was $325,106 last month, up from $317,312 in August. The average for the last six months was $311,546. The median price for condominiums in September was $295,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month was $441,966 down from $455,430 in August. The median price dropped slightly to $415,000. The six month average was $426,521.
MLS® sales last month included 437 single family homes, 197 condominiums, 79 townhomes and 15 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®.
