Why is it so hard to find your dream home right now?

If you’re shopping for properties in Victoria right now, then you’re right to believe that the inventory is quite limited.  Active listings have actually decreased 30% from last year at this time, translated there isn’t a lot to choose from right now. If your thinking about waiting until the Spring to buy then you are risking the possibility that prices may have risen by that point. The market has just began to exhibit a seller’s market conditions as a result of low inventory and rising prices (BCREA). It has been forecast that home prices will continue to rise in the months to come and should match record highs of last year and then the market is projected to stabilize in 2010. A good document for buyers and sellers to review is the BC Real Estate Association Economic Forecast (http://www.bcrea.bc.ca/economics/HousingForecast.pdf). This document forecasts that the annual prices in Victoria will contract 4% this year and rise 2% in 2010 (to date prices have dropped 5% and so this means that BCREA is projecting a 1% increase in prices in the next few months). Therefore in my opinion, although it is challenging shopping for property right now, it would be a mistake to give up and with for the spring market.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me on my cell at 250-857-6045.

AUGUST MARKET UPDATE

The number of property sales in the Greater Victoria area slowed during August but sales were again significantly higher than a year ago. Prices, meantime, remained stable with some increase for single family homes. A total of 764 homes and other properties sold in August through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down from the 933 sales in July but up 48 per cent compared to the 517 sales in August of last year.

Victoria Real Estate Board President, Chris Markham, says it is usual for sales to slow in August, “Many people take holidays in August so it is not surprising to see sales soften somewhat. We are very pleased, however, to note the significant increase in sales last month compared to August of a year ago which gives further evidence
of the strengthening of the market.”

There were 3,509 properties available for sale at the end of August, down 25 per cent from the 4,657 properties available in the same month a year ago. “The decline in the number of properties available for sale will continue to place some upward pressure on prices,” said Markham. Sales so far this year are running over six per cent higher than in the first eight months of last year.

The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $596,498, up from $565,469 in July. Markham noted that the average price was affected by 17 sales of over $1 million. “These included two sales of over $4 million, one in Saanich East and one in Central Saanich, and these had a significant impact on the overall average price,” he stated. The median price increased $20,000 to $540,000. The six-month average was $569,546. The overall average price for condominiums was $317,312 last month, down from $328,441 in July. The average for the last six months was $307,347. The median price for condominiums in August remained unchanged at $290,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month was $455,430 up from $443,109 in July. The median price dropped slightly to $419,000. The six month average was $421,565.

MLS® sales last month included 403 single family homes, 218 condominiums, 91 townhomes and 11 manufactured homes.

(courtesy of VREB)