Coming off a strong October, Greater Victoria’s real estate market kicked off November with the sale of one of the Island’s most expensive homes.
The Oak Bay house, owned for years by the family that established Butchart Gardens, was sold over the weekend.
Listed for $8.999 million by Sotheby’s, the actual sale price of the mansion at 1069 Beach Dr. was not available at press time.
The 9,000-plus-square-foot home, featuring six bedrooms and eight bathrooms on 2.9 acres of waterfront, has been on and off the market for years. It was assessed this year at $8.1 million, and was listed in 2010 for $11.5 million.
The property has been known for its manicured lawns and gardens and
85 metres of waterfront.
It was built in 1912 for David Rogers, who headed Rogers and Co. Ltd. real estate firm and was also president of The Uplands Ltd. development firm.
It has also been held by descendants of the Butchart family, who established the tourist attraction on the Saanich Peninsula in 1904.
The Oak Bay sale kicks off what could be another busy month as the region’s housing market appears to be maintaining strength through the fall.
“This is the 29th month in a row that we’ve seen monthly sales increase over the year before,” said Greater Victoria Real Estate Board president Guy Crozier. “This month we also saw sales numbers surpass the total for last year.”
He noted that in 2014 there were 6,698 sales and this year, as of Oct. 31, there are 7,257, with two months to go in 2015. “We’re looking down the home stretch of 2015 and there is no sign of a market slowdown,” said Crozier.
Crozier said home sales are almost at the pace of new listings, leading to homes selling in high-demand areas — such as Oak Bay, Victoria, Saanich — within days of being put up for sale.
The market north of the Malahat summit, however, cooled in October, according to the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board.
Sales of single-family homes dropped to 369 in October, down from the 400 sold in the same month in 2014.
B.C. Real Estate Association chief economist Cameron Muir said the drop didn’t come as a surprise given the robust market the province saw throughout 2015.
“The dip in sales activity is not unusual for this time of year and is nothing to be concerned about. It’s even less of an issue when you consider how strong the 2015 market has been. You don’t typically see home sales reach their highest levels in 10 years and then abruptly plateau,” he said.
The benchmark price of a single-family home in the Island coverage area increased year over year by 5.6 per cent in October to $339,100.
