Fewer sales and a slight increase in new listings could be an indication the Greater Victoria real estate market is becoming more balanced, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board.
“The numbers we saw in April are a further indication that the market is gradually moving towards a more balanced state compared to the record setting pace of 2016." says VREB president Ara Balabanian.
There were 885 properties sold in the region last month, well below the 1,286 sold in the same month in 2016, and even below the 929 that sold in March of this year.
The 10-year average for sales in April is 772 sales.
“We are starting to see hints of a more traditional spring market. Local agricultural production has been delayed due to the late spring, and so has the local real estate market,” said Balabanian, “More sellers listed their homes for sale over the month of April compared to the month previous.”
There were 1,690 active listings at the end of April 2017, a slight improvement over the 1,556 in March, but well off the 2,594 active listings at the end of April 2016.
“Inventory is still low, which means that buyers may encounter multiple-offer situations in some of the high demand areas, there is still more demand than supply,” Balabanian said.
According to the VREB the benchmark value for a single-family home in the Victoria core in April increased significantly to $805,100 from $684,900 in April last year. Last month that price was $790,100.
