Greater Victoria real estate sales jumped last month to their highest level in more than four years.
“The increase may be attributed to the extended period of low mortgage rates we are seeing, and to the great diversity of properties currently available,” Tim Ayres, Victoria Real Estate Board president, said Monday.
May saw a total of 714 properties sell through the board’s multiple listing system. Numbers haven’t been that high since April 2010 when 756 sales took place, the board said.
Last month’s increase showed an eight per cent hike from the May 2013, when there were total sales of 659.
The benchmark price for a Greater Victoria single-family house was $498,500 last month, up from $493,600 in May of last year.
A total of 19 single-family houses sold for more than $1 million last month. At the other end of the market, 29 single-family houses sold for less than $350,000.
“We are seeing a modest increase in property values overall in the Victoria area,” Ayres said.
A total of 411 single-family homes sold in May, along with 166 condominiums, and 94 townhomes.
The number of properties on the market climbed to 4,672 in May, up from 4,404 in April.
The home with the highest price tag on the MLS is a waterfront property in Oak Bay, listed at $16.9 million. The lowest is a mobile home at $12,000, located on a rented pad in Central Saanich.
Downtown condominiums have captured buyers’ attention in recent years and developers are responding to the interest.
Real estate agent Tony Zarsadias, of the Condo Group, is marketing the Union, a new 133-unit downtown development between Pandora Avenue and Fisgard Street. More than half the units have sold. New residents have been moving in since March.
The range of buyers is wide, including people who live and work downtown, parents buying for children attending school here, and Vancouver and Alberta residents wanting a downtown Victoria location for visits. Prices range from $240,000 for a smaller one-bedroom, to $550,000 for larger two bedroom units. Most units in the project are one bedrooms.
Zarsadias expects the downtown condos will be absorbed by the market, noting they are not going to be built all at once.
Others condo projects planned include the nearby Janion in the 1600-block of Store Street, where some purchasers camped out overnight to snap up micro-suites, and a proposal to convert the old Customs House, 816 Government St.
Sales numbers increased as well for the area of Vancouver Island, north of the Malahat. A total of 485 single-family homes sold last month, up from 451 in April.
The benchmark price was $314,700 in May, an increase from $308,300 the previous year.
