Victoria real estate sets record in seller’s market

Summer’s searing temperatures might be cooling down, but the mercury keeps rising in the Victoria real estate market where prices and sales are climbing.

Last month was another record-setter for sales in the capital region. This was the sixth record-breaking month in a row.

The number of properties available for sale continues to shrink, fuelling the current seller’s market.

Only 2,094 listings were available through the Victoria Real Estate Board, making it the lowest inventory level in August in the past 20 years, Mike Nugent, board president, said on Thursday.

This low inventory situation “will continue to put pressure on pricing,” Nugent said.

“Sales would be even higher were there more inventory available for buyers to purchase.”

The benchmark price for a typical single-family house in the Victoria core area was $746,900 in August, the board said in its monthly report.

A year ago, it was $603,200. That’s a difference of 23.8 per cent.

For those who look at average prices, the average for a singlefamily house in Greater Victoria came in at $752,509 and the median (mid-way) price was $645,000.

The highest number of singlefamily homes was sold in Saanich East, with 81 houses changing hands.

Next was Langford at 60 and Saanich West at 47.

The average price for condominiums was $336,902, and $462,989 for townhouses.

Victoria led the way in condo sales, with 103 sold, followed by Saanich East at 37 and Langford at 33.

August saw 883 properties sold through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service, leading to a total sales value of $496 million.

That’s up 19.2 per cent from the 741 properties sold in August 2015

Vancouver real estate watchers figure the foreign investment property transfer tax has muffled sales in that region, but at this time, there is no indication that it is affecting the capital region, Nugent said.