The final tally for October's real-estate activity indicates the south Island property market has come full circle, according to figures released by the Victoria Real-Estate Board.

A total of 735 properties listed on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) changed hands throughout October, an increase of just a single sale over last October.

However, despite the optics of a zero growth showing, all indicators continue to suggest the buying frenzy is far from over.

"Last October was actually the month that initiated the strong market we saw throughout 2016, which means this October's performance has aligned with the surge we saw last year," said Marko Juras, REALTOR® with Fair Realty in Victoria.

With last month's sales activity clocking in as one of the top-five busiest Octobers in Victoria real-estate history, active listings, the product available to buyers, is a different story.

"We've broken a new kind of record this year, the record for the lowest available inventory since we began keeping track of this data in the 1990's," Juras said.

"Last year at this time there were 3,170 properties listed on the MLS. This year we've seen a drop of nearly 40% to 1,938, and newly added listings for the month were the lowest since October of 2003."

For the remainder of the year Juras believes available inventory will continue to slide, possibly down to a low of 1,600, while median single-family-dwelling prices will remain in the $650,000 range as they have for much of 2016. Next year, however, if inventory remains tight, prices could start to rise.

"With so much demand we're going going to see the value of property sustained through the end of the year and into 2017, especially with so little inventory. That being said, however, if we do not see a resurgence in active listings by mid-winter that could start to push prices higher." C

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