It’s been an interesting summer for BC real estate! Summer was definitely a hot time of year for lower mainland and Fraser Valley real estate sales.
Last month, we reported that Vancouver and lower mainland real estate heated up with the busiest July since 2009 according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). July 2013 sales were over 40% higher than July 2012 sales and over 11% higher than June 2013. We also reviewed numbers from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), looking at the boost in summer sales and listings over the month July, seeing an increase of 5% compared to July 2012 and an increase of 10% compared to June 2013.
When we look at summer statistics from the Victoria Real Estate Board, we see that Vancouver Island is no exception to this trending surge in real estate sales across BC.
“Sales numbers are slightly lower than in June, but that’s part of our normal summer market cycle. When seasonally adjusted, our market activity remains strong for this time of year,” says Shelley Mann, Board President. “Despite the brisk activity, we continue to see housing prices remain flat,” Mann says. “With fewer properties listed at the end of July, we are still narrowly into a balanced market.”
The Board reported that MLS® listed 583 sales in July from 4,772 active listings at month end, with a sales-to-active-listings ratio of 15% (a balanced market is typically defined as a ratio between 15 and 20%).
When compared to Victoria sales in July 2012, the numbers for July 2013 show that Victoria has experienced a year-over-year 17.7% increase.
Mann also reports that sellers are now seeing multiple offers on some properties, although the offers are not always over the asking price, which illustrates the importance of consulting a REALTOR® to gain customized insight to obtain the optimum price.
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