The last full month of summer delivered 545 property sales from Sooke to Sidney, with stable prices across the market spectrum, and a drop in active listings.

 

Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) data via transactions through the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) shows 252 single-family homes sold in August at an average of $1,264,686 and a median of $1,158,640. The figures represent a slight drop and increase compared to July’s 319 MLS sales, respectively. August’s median was nose-to-nose with August of 2023, while the average dipped approximately $84,000 compared to last year.

 

Victoria-based realtor Ryan Cook (see website) of RE/MAX Camosun says the single-family-home segment of Victoria’s real-estate market remains busy with plenty of buyer interest, but that doesn’t necessarily mean sellers have the upper hand.

 

“For single-family homes in particular, there are plenty of options to choose from, and unless a property is unique or carries value-adds that can differentiate it from other listings, price concessions are relatively common if a listing does not generate offers within its first two or three weeks,” Cook says, adding that “a magic number to spur activity is a re-price to below $1 million, where we see buyers re-enter the interest pool, and even engage in multi-bid scenarios.”

 

Condominiums, meanwhile, saw both an average price and a median price uplift in August compared to July, across 181 sales. The average landed at $597,262 and the median reached $540,000, surpassing an average in July of $585,223 and a median of $525,000 over 213 sales. Last August, the average for a condominium was $619,128 at a $550,000 median.

 

“As we’ve seen throughout much of this year, two-bedroom and two-bath condo layouts continue to attract offers and generate a lot of interest,” Cook says. “Studio and one-bedroom layouts are not as in demand currently, partially due to the lack of investor interest in the condominium market, and partially due to suppressed activity in Victoria’s city centre that historically is a strong market for smaller suites.” 

 

The VREB reports 72 townhome sales occurred in August, alongside a slight drop in both the average and the median, landing at $823,291 on average at a $767,000 median. In July, the average was $845,756 at a $785,000 median, over 81 sales. In August of 2023, both the average and the median were nearly identical to this year’s, at $827,812 for the average and $773,073 for the median.

 

New listings continued to edge downward as is typical following annual highs in spring, and settled at 1,043 in August as part of a total active listing tally of 3,191 listings. The peak so far this year was 3,460 active listings in June, with May posting the highest new listings in a month at 1,757 units.

 

Wednesday’s interest rate announcement has the potential to spur even more activity in Victoria’s housing market, although exactly how demand will change depends on the Bank of Canada’s next move.

 

“If the Bank of Canada feels a rate reduction of 0.25% or 0.50% is warranted tomorrow, that will represent the third interest rate drop following a period of increases into 2023,” Cook says, continuing:

 

“Any reduction in interest rates will be helpful overall, but if we see a drop of 0.25%, it may not move the needle enough to compel a single-family-home buyer on the sideline to make a jump between properties, or for a buyer to commit to an average-priced home if the numbers didn’t work in August at the current overnight rate of 4.5%. Having said that, the investor market and first-time homebuyers targeting the lowest-priced inventory may find even a slightly lower rate to be helpful, and that would make a positive difference for studio and one-bedroom inventory already on the market.”

 

As to the fall, Cook believes Victoria’s resilience as a top-tier location for retirement and employment, and the potential for lower interest rates, will deliver a stable September and start to autumn.

 

“Victoria’s home values remain buoyed by strong demand and in-migration that values the lifestyle the south Island brings, and with that factor in play, homebuyers and sellers can expect a fairly balanced market this fall, with desirable properties generating strong interest and sellers compelled to present fair expectations to buyers willing to pen reasonable offers.” C

 

© Copyright 2024 by Citified.ca. All rights reserved.