The Neal Estate Team's Victoria Real Estate Update for August 2020

July 2020 continued to be unusually active in the Victoria Real Estate market, especially in the single family home segment. Sales of single family homes were up a whopping 61.1% compared to July last year while condos sales also rose by 11.2% in the same year over year comparison. There were 979 total board-wide (559 SFD, 239 condos) sales in July, altogether up 21.2% over June 2020 and 38.7% up from last year. These are some very big numbers for the month and if nothing else, great indicators that this is not a normal market.

The increase in activity also saw many new listings coming on to the market but not enough to outpace the number of sales. July saw a 10% decrease in available listings year over year and a 1.7% decrease compared to June 2020 with 2,653 active listings at the end of the month. It is also worth noting that much of the decrease in inventory was in the single-family dwelling segment as many of the new listings of that type sold quickly and often in multiple offers.

Basic economics tells us that price will rise when supply is low and demand is high, so it is no surprise that benchmark values rose across the board. Single family homes again outpaced condos, increasing 5.7% year over year and 1.6% from the previous month to hit a benchmark price of $910,000. Condos, less effect on the supply side and on the demand side, rose only 1.7% year over year and 0.8% from the previous month to hit $525,900.

Low inventory has been an ongoing problem for those hoping for more of a buyers market and inventory levels are often slow to change. The average inventory over the past 10 years is 3,767 available listings and we are now more than 1,000 listings below that and now under 3 months supply.

Despite all these numbers, it remains hard to determine any solid future prediction. Much of the activity can still be attributed to “pent up demand” from a slower spring market. If activity continues to be at these levels (or anywhere near it) we will know that low lending rates are having a major effect on the market. The single family home market specifically cannot likely sustain this level of activity so if you are considering selling your home, today is the best day (although demand may continue in this segment as buyers look to get out of multifamily buildings in our COVID era). As we move into Fall we will continue to see what this new un-normal normal really is but for now, it is a tremendous time to sell your home.

If you would like to know how we are beating the market and helping our clients win, please click Here for a FREE consultation. Ask us about featuring your home on VictoriaComingSoonListings.com to ensure the best results and we hit the ground running together as we get to the other side of this.

Stay safe,

The Neal Estate Team
Your Victoria & Vancouver Island Real Estate Experts
“Let our experience be your guide
www.RonNeal.com
www.HomesOnVancouverIsland.ca