February’s Greater Victoria real-estate market activity gave townhome sales and valuations a leg-up, while single-family-dwelling and condominium sales on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) also posted higher prices compared to January, Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) data shows.

 

Townhomes sold via MLS numbered 68, a total loftier than 2023's monthly average of 62 sales. The median price was $799,950, higher than all but two months in all of last year, and the average soared to $848,059, in line with the 2022 annual average of $867,002 and well above the 2023 average of $805,619.

 

“Townhomes are selling well, especially if they’re in the urban core of Victoria, and considered turn-key without any major remodelling or renovations required,” said Victoria realtor, Marko Juras (see website). “Sales of townhomes are up 50% compared to last February, as the market segment is becoming more entrenched and families choose this style of housing compared to single-family homes.”

 

Single-family dwellings saw 224 transactions averaging $1,244,639, at a median of $1,125,000. Although far from record highs for the Capital, a price plateau of a $1.2 million average is firmly entrenched as demand continues to far outstrip supply of detached housing.

 

“Houses with suites priced from $1 million to $1.2 million are exceptionally in demand right now, and the right home, with the right finishings, will easily reach $1.3 million throughout the city,” Juras says. “We are even seeing bidding wars for homes in that price range, if particularly nice, and in an area where demand is strong. In short, there is absolutely no downward price pressure on houses right now, which gives sellers an advantage.”

 

Condominiums averaged just under $600,000 at $596,896, and reached a median of $535,000. That’s not a bad showing, Juras believes. However, the largest condominium market in the region continues to be dragged down as inventory rises and buyers remain hesitant.

 

“The cancellation of short-term rentals as permitted uses in Victoria’s grandfathered AirBnB-permitted buildings has seen a marked rise in condominium listings, and sellers of these units are either seeing their listings languish, or are forced to walk their expectations down. And downtown overall is not a particularly in-demand market right now, given the social pressures in the city centre.”

 

Juras cites the Janion building (on Store Street) as an example of a popular building for short-term rentals at the forefront of price drops at approximately 15% less than the market called for prior to the Province's AirBnB ban. Other condominiums, like the Era tower on Yates Street, are seeing a 10% correction among sold listings, and others still where AirBnBs were not as prevalent, are tempering asks by 5%.

 

Overall, the re-sale market via MLS posted 470 total sales including commercial purchases. Last February, albeit not a leap year, reached 460 transactions, technically a per-day average slightly higher than this year’s. February did outpace all prior months to September’s 493.

 

As for new listings, 1,088 emerged in February, yielding a total active listing unit count of 2,364, the strongest February for active listings since 2,562 in 2016.

 

With the spring sales season just around the corner, Juras believes interest rate shock has been factored into the market and into buyer expectations, and this is likely to reflect strong demand for March through June, provided no major external events impact the economy.

 

“Given the horizon for an interest rate decrease has been pushed further out than we would have expected, the market, today, is quite steady and accepting of the terms and conditions the rate environment delivered,” Juras said, adding:

 

“Even though sales are not headline-making, even though prices are well below record highs, the market is very stable and resilient, and if more quality product was available, we’d see even more homebuying. All in all, the market has accepted today’s high prices at higher rates, and now we wait to see what spring will deliver.” C

 

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