New statistics from the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) show that housing sales continue to rise in the area despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
989 properties were sold in the VREB region this September, an increase of 60.6 per cent in sales compared to September 2019, and 1 per cent more than August 2020.
Condo sales were up 26.7 per cent and family homes were up 91.9 per cent from September 2019.
“Another month has passed where we have seen surprisingly high sales numbers – which included quite a few higher end properties,” says VREB President Sandi-Jo Ayers.
“I don’t think that anyone who was trying to predict market outcomes in our area over the course of the pandemic expected that the pent up demand from dampened sales in April and May would result in this level of market activity.”
Availability is also dropping, with 2,389 listed on the VREB listing service at the end of September 2020, a 15.4 per cent drop in listings from September 2019.
Benchmark values rose slightly, with a single family home being listed for an average of $849,100 in September 2019 compared to $879,200 in September 2020.
“We had some much-needed new inventory enter the market over the course of September,” said Ayers. ”But the supply has not been sufficient to outstrip the heightened demand.
She added that the statistics do not yet indicate a trend and should be taken as a snapshot of the current market.
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