Re: “Record sales, high prices for real estate in 2016,” Jan. 4.
While all the headlines have been trumpeting the massive increases in property assessments as well as the impressive year-over-year price gains for properties in Victoria, an equally significant story is being overlooked.
Looking at the chart titled Single Family Homes, graphing the average and median sales prices for single-family homes across Greater Victoria going back as far as December 2013, one sees a critical change that occurred in the most recent month. The average price dropped a whopping $100,000, from about $850,000 in November to about $750,000 in December, representing a decrease of about 12 per cent in one month.
Similarly, the median price dropped significantly as well, from about $700,000 to about $660,000, a decrease of about six per cent. This is an alarming reversal of the trend from the past year and takes the average and median prices back to the March 2016 levels.
One month alone does not make a new trend, but such a major reversal should at least warrant a mention.
Kevin Ellis
Victoria
