The Victoria Real Estate Board says the number of October property sales were 59.9 per cent higher than the same time last year.
According to the board, a total of 990 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this October, 59.9 per cent more than the 619 properties sold in October 2019 and 0.1 per cent more than the previous month of September 2020.
Sales of condominiums were up 70.8 per cent from October 2019 with 304 units sold. Sales of single-family homes were up 53.1 per cent from October 2019 with 487 sold.
“Once again, another month concluded with numbers that surprised many of us,” Victoria Real Estate Board President Sandi-Jo Ayers said in a release.
“Sales for October broke the record for the month and inventory continues to be snapped up quickly. Due to this high demand, low supply environment, we are seeing many multiple offer situations. Condos and single-family homes both continue to be popular choices for buyers.”
There were 2,122 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service at the end of October 2020, 19.7 per cent fewer properties than the total available at the end of October 2019 and an 11.2 per cent decrease from the 2,389 active listings for sale at the end of September 2020.
“We have mentioned previously the pent-up demand – how sales that were depressed over the spring because of the pandemic occurred later during the summer. These delayed sales resulted in higher than average numbers for our summer and early fall market,” Ayers said.
“We may also be seeing some brought-forward demand – where people are making their future moves now. In part this may be to take advantage of lower mortgage interest rates. It may also be because of our current public health situation. Some people may be anticipating a slowdown in general activity over the winter months due to the course
of the pandemic and so are accelerating their plans. This may mean continued heightened sales activity through the fall and early winter, which is contrary to our normal market trend. In a normal year, we would see a tapering off of activity leading to the winter season, but thus far we have seen sustained sales and demand through October.”
The average price of a single-family home in Greater Victoria in October 2020 was $1,037,389, down 3.6 per cent compared to the price of 1,075, 891 in September 2020 but up 12.8 per cent compared to $920,058 in October 2019.
The average price of a condo apartment in Greater Victoria was $496,701 in October 2020, down 1.1 per cent compared to September 2020 but up 9.2 per cent compared to October 2019.
And the average price of a row townhouse was $635,110, up 5.7 per cent compared to September 2020 and up 2.0 per cent compared to October 2019.
Read more on Greater Victoria real estate stats for October 2020 here.
CHEK News
