Real-estate sales throughout Greater Victoria as in a "frenzy" as homebuyers flock to limited listings amid low interest rates and rising demand for south Island homes. Citified.ca
$1.2 million average sets new record for Victoria house prices as 2021 starts with a bang
MIKE KOZAKOWSKI, CITIFIED.CA
Published February 1, 2021
The price of single-family-homes skyrocketed in January to a record-breaking average price of $1.2 million as overall sales of residential and commercial properties surpassed January 2020’s 411 transactions by 57%.
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After a year of record real-estate prices, record sales and ultra-low interest rates throughout 2020, figures provided by the Victoria Real-Estate Board show 2021 started with a bang as demand property far outstripped available supply on the re-sale market.
“It’s a home buying frenzy in Victoria,” says local REALTOR, Marko Juras. “We simply do not have sufficient inventory for the level of demand we’re seeing, and this is leading to a lot of buyers feeling frustrated that they can’t keep up with rising prices, they see listings disappear immediately with unconditional offers from competing purchasers, and for the time being, there is no end in sight.”
The detached housing market in Victoria saw 290 sales in January with an average price paid of $1,204,817, a new ceiling for south Island real-estate. The previous record, at just below $1.1 million, was set last November.
Overall re-sale listings totalled 1,321, a drop of nearly 33% from the year before, while 646 properties changed hands. And although COVID-19 has turned Victoria’s real-estate market red-hot, it has also kept potential sellers at bay.
“We have a convergence of people newly arriving in Greater Victoria in search of houses, people looking to move up from condominium or townhome residences into houses, and new purchasers entering the market who are up against the reality of limited listings due to the pandemic,” Juras says. “The only outcome is rising prices.”
As single-family-homes rapidly rise in value, the condominium market is entering 2021 with a record of its own.
“We just broke the record for the number of monthly condominium purchases,” Juras said. “January had 216 sales with an average price of $490,511, and given the price discrepancy between single-family-homes and condos, it is likely we’ll start seeing price pressure at multi-unit offerings throughout the region as we head into the spring buying season.”
Townhomes, which are in vogue for their role as a ‘middle ground’ between houses and condominiums, maintained their upwards trajectory, albeit limited by a lack of inventory.
65-units sold in January at an average of $647,345. Juras expects this segment of the market to continue to do well given the desirability of more space for people transitioning to a work-from-home environment, private garages and private green or outdoor spaces common with townhomes and rowhomes. The rise in demand also propelled the townhome pre-sale market including, Royal Oak's The Reeve that reached sold-out status in January.
The long-term outlook for 2021 may deliver a record volume of property sales. The busiest year for Greater Victoria was 2016 with 10,600 sales. 2016 started off with 539 sales that January, which was easily surpassed this year with 646 sales. C
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