A new record has been set for the priciest single-family-dwelling ever sold through the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) on Vancouver Island.

 

After only 64 days on the market, a 1.67-acre estate at 3155 Beach Drive in the District of Oak Bay’s Uplands community sold earlier this month for $13,195,000.

 

Listed in March for $15.5 million by Lisa Williams of Sotheby’s International, the 2016-built 11,900 square foot mansion “boasts a timeless and elegant design with beautiful hand-crafted finishing [and] appointments throughout.” The home features five “oversized [and] luxuriously-appointed bedroom suites,” eight baths, and “generously proportioned rooms designed for both large-scale entertaining and relaxed [and] casual family living.” The holding even includes its own two small (albeit private) islands, and beach access for kayakers.

 

3155 Beach Drive surpassed the valuation of last year’s record-breaking MLS-listed sale of a Metchosin home for $12 million, and fetched $1.7 million more than a long-standing former record-holder in Oak Bay from 14 years-ago.

 

The parcel and home are assessed by BC Assessment at $13.8 million.

 

More new records, though, could be just around the corner. Based on current MLS listings and asking prices, the $13.2 million deal is being challenged by My Time, a $14 million residence on Fishboat Bay Road west of Sooke in the community of Shirley, a $16.5 million Lands End Road villa in North Saanich known as the Seaholme, and the $16.75 million Ocean Enclave on West Saanich Road in Central Saanich.

 

There is, however, a distinction between residential sales via MLS and off-market purchase opportunities brokered without a formal listing on the database. One such deal saw a North Saanich home on nearly 25-acres sell for $18 million last November according to BC Assessment, although its purchase is not included within Victoria Real-Estate Board (VREB) market statistics that rely on transactions via MLS. Such sales for residential properties are unconventional, and relatively rare for Greater Victoria.

 

In April, Greater Victoria’s average single-family-home price reached a new average valuation record of $1.43 million, according to the VREB. Demand for the Capital’s real-estate surged across the board since 2020, with buyers offering well north of historic medians and means that set new records across the entire real-estate spectrum.

 

New and active listings in May, meanwhile, are sliding upwards after a sustained record-breaking lack of re-sale inventory throughout 2020 and 2021. The dearth of available listings helped drive up real-estate prices, fuelled bidding wars for desirable properties, and encouraged purchasers to avoid due diligence inspections in order to remain competitive in a tight market.

 

The latest VREB data shows current active listings total 1,664-units in the Capital, up from 1,450 last May. Sales for the month are expected to fall by approximately 20% compared to last year. C