The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,093 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August, an increase of 4.9 per cent from the same month last year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $685,575, an increase of 2.6 per cent from August 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $4.86 billion, a 7.6 per cent increase from the same month last year. The good news for the BC housing market is that home sales continue to recover from a policy-driven downturn," said BCREA Deputy Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson.
However in our board area sales of single-family homes for month of August dipped by 11 per cent year over year and were nine per cent lower than in July. Last month, 413 single-family homes sold on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System compared to 453 the previous month and 463 in August 2018.
We are experiencing continued adjustment as buyers adapt to the restrictions imposed by the B-20 stress test and sellers curb the expectations formed during the booming markets of 2016 and 2017 and, to a lesser extent, 2018. In the VIREB area, inventory of single-family homes in August rose by 11 per cent from one year ago (1,343 to 1,485).
Prices in the VIREB area are still rising however this is somewhat inaccurate as it is a lagging indicator. The benchmark price of a single-family home board-wide was $515,400 in August, a three per cent increase from one year ago and up slightly from July. (Benchmark pricing tracks the value of a typical home in the reported area.) In the apartment category, the year-over-year benchmark price also rose by three per cent, climbing to $302,800 and marginally higher than in July. The benchmark price of a townhouse rose by five per cent board-wide, hitting $417,300 last month, which was two per cent higher than July’s benchmark of $410,600.
Regionally, the benchmark price of a single-family home in the Campbell River area last month was $445,100, an increase of 10 per cent over August 2018. In the Comox Valley, the benchmark price reached $518,200, up by two per cent from one year ago. Duncan reported a benchmark price of $474,400, an increase of four per cent from August 2018. Nanaimo’s benchmark price rose slightly to $560,200 while the Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price increase by three per cent to $590,000. The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni reached $318,200 in August, a five per cent increase from one year ago.
Trend-wise, VIREB’s housing market has transitioned from one that is balanced to a buyer's market in some price ranges. Although real estate is cyclical you still need to understand which segmant of the market your home is in and with access to tools and market analytics that empower us to dig deeply into sales data and comparatives allows us to determine an optimal selling price for your home or purchase price for your new home. Call us if you have any questions about the Vancouver Island market.