Ron's Victoria Real Estate Market Update for December 2015

The year ended with continuing strong demand and short supply with 465 sales in December, 19.5% higher than December of 2014. The number of active listings at the end of the month was down 21.6% from the same time last year to only 2,517 listings. There were 8,295 sales reported on Victoria MLS for the year, our strongest year since 2007.

There are many factors that influence our market. Trends can rapidly change with local, provincial, federal and global events. As we’ve witnessed, subtle changes with mortgage rules or interest rates can change things swiftly. The current strength of the market comes from consumer confidence also fueled by strong investment from buyers from outside of our market area (primarily lower mainland and Alberta). It’s my personal forecast that we’re likely to see a strong Seller’s market with a shortage of inventory in the short term and that we are likely to see the trend of modest price increases continue for the next 3-5 years barring any significant large scale events or policy changes.

Market activity, balance of supply and demand together with resulting trends continue to vary considerably from one area of Greater Victoria to another and with different property types and price ranges. For specific and relevant information relative to specific areas and property types please contact us for information and free no-obligation consultation or register for our free and easy Market Snapshot.