Victoria, BC Real Estate Market: May 2022
Welcome back to my market updates post! I will continue to update this Victoria, British Columbia, real estate market page at the beginning of each month.
This post’s data, housing prices, statistics, and property information are from the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Region. Alright, let’s get to it!
The Market Overall
In total, 761 residential properties were sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region during May 2022, which is 27.5% fewer properties than the 1,049 properties sold in May 2021 and a 7.6% decrease from the previous month of April 2022.
Overall, the Victoria real estate market seems to be a little less competitive for homebuyers. Inventory is slowly increasing each month and, as of June 1st, 2022 there are approximately 1,776 active listings compared to the 1,450 active listings in May 2021.
The increase in interest rates has slightly discouraged some buyers and is an attempt by the Bank of Canada to cool buyer demand and high inflation.
Victoria is a desirable place to live for many reasons so even with the increase in mortgage rates I don’t see home buyer demand decreasing rapidly. Supply is still historically low as well. If supply continues to increase and demand decreases then that is when we may start to see fewer multiple offer scenarios and home prices level out.
On June 1st, 2022, the Bank of Canada raised the benchmark interest rate another 50 points to 1.5%.
With inflation reaching 6.8% in April 2022, the aggressive increase in the policy rate will attempt to counter increasing inflation.
Over the past few months, the amount of active listings has slowly increased each month. However, the amount of active listings is still really low compared to before the pandemic.
If buyer demand softens and supply continues to increase then we may start to see the Victoria real estate market soften. However, since inventory is still very low, I don’t think the market will change instantly.
Allowing secondary suites, zoning changes, and quicker approval of development permits are necessary to continue to have enough housing supply in the Greater Victoria area.
Days on market is another important indicator of the strength of a real estate market.
If listings start to take more time to sell (more days on market) then that is an indication that we may start to see home prices flatten or slightly decrease with time.
Overall, days on market, the total amount of active listings, and changing interest rates are important numbers to keep an eye on.
Condo sales in May 2022 were down 23.1% compared to May last year (2021), with 250 units sold.
In addition, sales of single-family homes in May 2022 were down 31.7% from May 2021, with 367 houses sold.
There were 1,776 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of May 2022, an increase of 30.1% compared to the previous month of April 2022 and a 22.5% increase from the 1,450 active listings for sale at the end of May 2021.
Below are the statistics released at months end from the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB)
May 2022
Net unconditional sales: 761
New listings: 1,531
Active listings: 1,776
May 2021
Net unconditional sales: 1,049
New listings: 1,333
Active listings: 1,450
Median Sale Prices For Single Family Homes, Condos, and Townhomes
Single Family Homes Greater Victoria
- May 2022 median selling price: $1,250,000
- May 2021 median selling price: $1,011,000
- 23.6% increase in median selling price compared to May 2021
Condo Apartment
- May 2022 median selling price: $598,000
- May 2021 median selling price: $478,000
- 25.1% increase in median selling price compared to May 2021
Row/Townhome
- May 2022 median selling price: $800,000
- May 2021 median selling price: $730,000
- 9.6% increase in median selling price compared to May 2021
Average Sale Prices For Single Family Homes, Condos, and Townhomes
Single Family Homes Greater Victoria
- May 2022 average selling price: $1,404,944
- May 2021 average selling price: $1,173,701
- 19.7% increase in average selling price compared to May 2021
Condo Apartment
- May 2022 average selling price: $655,518
- May 2021 average selling price: $536,068
- 22.3% increase in average selling price compared to May 2021
Row/Townhome
- May 2022 average selling price: $850,224
- May 2021 average selling price: $752,313
- 13.0% increase in average selling price compared to May 2021
Sales to Active Listings Ratio
The total residential sales over the total active residential listings ratio is a measurement of supply and demand and is expressed as a percentage at months-end.
The ratio can provide buyers, sellers, and their agents an understanding of whether we are in a buyers’ market, sellers’ market, or a balanced market.
When the percentage of sales to active listings is in the 15-20% range, there is little pressure on home prices either way, and it is typically considered a balanced market.
However, when the sales to active listings percentage falls below 10%, there is downward pressure on prices, which is considered a buyers’ market.
Alternatively, when the sales to active listings percentage increases above 25%, there is upward pressure on prices, which is considered a sellers’ market.
For May 2022, the sales to active listings ratio dropped considerably to 51%, indicating a 28% decrease from the 78% sales to active listings ratio in April 2022. While this is the lowest the sales to active listings ratio has been since September 2020, the Victoria real estate market is still a strong sellers’ market.
A second factor is that there is a low supply of new homes coming to market in Victoria because of the high prices of construction materials, municipal zoning regulations, and high cost to acquire land to build.
The Victoria, BC real estate market is very dynamic, and there are many important factors that influence market conditions.
If you have any questions about the real estate market or if you’d like to know what your home is worth in today’s market, I would love to prepare a free comparative market analysis for you! Feel free to send me a message on my contact page or email ria@mavrikoscollective.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
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This July update for Victoria’s real estate market was helpful for me because I invested in a property in that real estate market. Without the details shared here, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
This blog really helped me understand the madness out there. Thank you for breaking it down so clearly and putting it into terms that anyone can digest.
Hope to be working with you in the future!
Diana