Ron Neal’s August 2014 Victoria Real Estate Market Update

As our summer weather heated up so did sales with almost 100 more sales in July of this year compared to July of 2013 and right on track with June’s sales volume. There were again more than 1,200 new listings for the month and the resulting total number of residential listings for sale at the end of July was 4,570. The simple math is that 14.9% of available listings sold during the month or about 1 in 6.5, all in all a balanced market but still favoring buyers in my opinion. We are experiencing a surge of relocating buyers from other parts of BC, Canada and International Immigrants. Also, there seems to be a small increase in investor interest/buying, although significantly restricted by tight lending rules. I have been successfully finding ways to get financing, when there’s a will, there’s often a way! Call me for help finding options and solutions. Surprising summer sales for Victoria and area real estate August 1, 2014, Victoria BC - The Victoria Real Estate Board today released its monthly report on real estate activity in the Victoria area for July 2014. 681 properties sold in the region in the month of July 2014, compared to 583 last year in July - an increase of nearly 17%. June 2014 saw 680 sales. When compared with year-to-date sales in 2013, 2014 shows a 10% increase. "I think the activity in July has surprised a few people," Victoria Real Estate Board President says. "Traditionally the summer market is slower than the spring, but numbers are tracking closely to March and April sales this year. Last year sales in July were 12% lower than in June - and June was the peak of the market in 2013. This year we see slightly more sales in July than in June. This is the first year since 2003 that July numbers have beaten June." The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core area in July was $562,000 - 2% higher than last year's average value for the same home - $550,900. "I'm looking forward to August numbers. With the diverse inventory on the market, stable pricing and the reasonable interest rates," he adds, "I think the busy sales season could last into fall."