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Victoria real estate sets record in seller’s market

Another month, another 31 days of record-breaking sales figures in the Greater Victoria real estate market.
Generic Real Estate
In August, 883 properties were sold through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s multiple listing service, leading to a total sales value of $496 million. That’s up by 19.2 per cent from the 741 properties sold in August 2015.

Another month, another 31 days of record-breaking sales figures in the Greater Victoria real estate market.

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 by 19.2 per cent from the 741 properties sold in August 2015 and sets the sixth consecutive monthly sales record, the Victoria Real Estate Board said in it its monthly report released today.

Like other record-breaking sales months, this is a seller’s market as property listings decline.

By the end of August, there were just 2,094 listings, a drop of 43.2 per cent from the same month last year.

The capital region has the “lowest number of listings available for sale in an August that we have seen in the last 20 years,” Mike Nugent, real estate board president, said in a statement.

As sales have increased, so have prices.

The benchmark price for a typical single-family house in the Victoria core area is now at $746,900. A year ago, it was $603,200.

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

The largest number of single-family 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.

The largest number of townhouses was sold in Langford, at 22, with Victoria next with 10 sales.

The low inventory of properties for sale “will continue to put pressure on pricing,” Nugent said.

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

He expects that by mid-month, total sales for this year will beat the 2015 sales numbers.

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.