October 2021

Vancouver Island continues to face challenges in regard to inventory and rapidly rising house prices. While inventory did increase in September (compared to August), it did not increase as much as one might have hoped considering traditional seasonal factors. Typically, the last months of the year see a significant decrease in inventory before a busier spring market, but as inventory is already staggeringly low it would have been nice to see a pre-slump bump.

Rural areas specifically have had a tremendous increase in value much to the dismay of buyers who missed out last year. As COVID buyers prioritized square footage over closeness to city centres and many workers found remote employment suddenly possible, the benchmark (average home in the area)

Victoria and South Vancouver Island remained parched amidst an inventory drought while thirsty buyers bought anything that was listed anywhere near reasonable pricing. 

There were 4 more listings on the market at the end of September compared to the end of August 2021 (1,124 listings compared to 1,120). This was a smaller increase than hoped for considering the winter months traditionally see a decrease in inventory (by about a quarter) and the number of new listings that came on this September was the lowest in about a decade and a half.

The Neal Estate Team sold 3.6% of the total sales in the Victoria area in September and increased our month-over-month transaction volume by 7.1% while the rest of the market declined 8.4% from August. 761

BC Monthly Real GDP Estimate for July 2021 and Preliminary Estimate for August 2021

The BCREA Nowcast estimate of provincial economic growth (expressed as year-over-year growth in real GDP) for July 2021 is 6.9 percent. For comparison, year-over-year growth in the Canadian economy in June was 4.7 percent. We have also included a preliminary estimate for August 2021 of 6.7 percent. The BCREA Nowcast estimate of average growth in the BC economy through the first 8 months of  2021 is estimated at 7 percent.

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BCREA is the professional association for more than 23,000 REALTORS® in

Canadian Monthly Real GDP Growth (July 2021) - October 1, 2021

The Canadian economy contracted 0.1 percent in July following growth of 0.6 percent in June.  The level of GDP remains about 2 percent below its pre-pandemic level of February 2020.  The majority of Canadian industries actually grew in July, led by re-opening of many provincial economies which led to a strong increase in the accommodation and food services sectors. That strength was more than offset, however, by declines in agriculture, manufacturing, and wholesale trade. On the bright side, Statistics Canada's preliminary estimate for August real GDP is showing a strong bounce back, with output across the economy rising 0.7 percent on a monthly basis. 

Given today's release, we