Sales are sizzling in Greater Victoria’s real estate market in contrast to the country’s economic slump.
“All of Greater Victoria is hot — extremely hot,” Gregg Mah, a real estate agent with Pemberton Holmes, said Tuesday.
Saanich East, James Bay, Fairfield and Oak Bay are among in-demand areas, Mah said.
“We are definitely getting multiple offers, especially if it is priced right in good areas.”
Last month, 796 properties sold, up by 16.9 per cent from 681 in July 2014.
Stable, low interest rates and potential buyers jumping off the fence are among factors fuelling the market, Mah said.
After a year of poring over advertisements, Susan Knight moved quickly when she spotted a listing for a rancher backing onto a park. “When this one came up, I just said ‘this is it.’ ”
Knight moved in this week and is thrilled with her $355,000 purchase. The two-bedroom house needed some upgrading so she invested $60,000 in improvements. “This house is bathed in warmth,” said Knight, who is originally from South Africa and loves the sun. Plus, the neighbours are wonderful, she said.
Statistics indicate Canada’s economy is struggling. The country’s real gross domestic product fell by 0.2 per cent in May, the fifth monthly decline in a row — technically, a month shy of a recession.
In many parts of the country, real estate is a bright spot in the economy. The Canadian Real Estate Association said that while home sales slipped by 0.8 per cent from May to June, the actual number of sales for those two months were the highest recorded in more than five years. Sales were up year-over-year in two-thirds of Canadian markets. Alberta, however, saw June sales drop by 14.3 per cent in June from the same month in 2014.
Greater Victoria’s busy spring market is continuing, although sales have dropped somewhat, which is typical, Victoria Real Estate Board president Guy Crozier said in a statement. “Consumer confidence remains very strong and shows no sign of falling off in the coming months.”
The benchmark value for a single-family home in Greater Victoria rose by 5.04 per cent to $512,400 in July, from $487,800 in 2014, the board said.
In July, a total of 41 sales of $1 million or more were recorded, it said.
Tony Joe, of Tony Joe and Associates of Re/Max Camosun, predicts that by October, total local sales will exceed those for all of 2014. Last year’s sales numbers were the strongest since 2010, he said.
This past weekend, three parties were interested in the same house on the Saanich Peninsula. After one offer was accepted, another house shopper made an offer in case the sale didn’t go through, he said.
“It’s a very nice position for the seller to be in. For them, it’s pretty well assured that they are going to have a sale because if the first one doesn’t go through, the second one will,” Joe said. The accepted offer came in virtually at the asking price.
He said single-family houses in neighbourhoods such as Gordon Head and Oak Bay are particularly in demand.
Gordon Head provides proximity to good schools, whether post-secondary or public and private schools. In addition, many homes have suites that help with mortgages.
Joe, president of the Asian Real Estate Association’s Vancouver Island chapter, said many Chinese families are moving here from the Lower Mainland, often attracted by the quality of schools here and the chance for their children to be immersed in a largely English-speaking environment. They may keep their home in Vancouver and buy here in the $600,000 to $800,000 range.
