Rons Candid Comments on the Victoria Real Estate Market for September 2016

The total number of sales for the Victoria Real Estate Board in September this year declined for the fourth consecutive month to 781 down from the record setting peak 1,289 sales in May 2016 but are still historically high and up 10 from just 704 sales in September of 2015. The Neal Estate Team has been on fire and we have maintained record levels of sales continuing to average a sale a day for the past few months. The total number of listings available for sale remains very low at just 2,061 at the end of September. This is 40 lower than the 3,478 available at the end of September 2015 and is as low as I can remember in my 25 years in the business since 1991. The continuing strong demand combined with low inventory has continued to pressure prices upwards with the Benchmark Housing Price Index for a single family home in Victoriarsquo;s core now up 22 from a year ago to $745,700. Vancouverrsquo;s new foreign buyer 15 tax doesnrsquo;t seem to have impacted us here in Greater Victoria and has not led to the increase in foreign buying here as speculated by some. Irsquo;ve seen a slowdown in the number of new buyers arriving from Metro Vancouver but overall, immigration remains strong from Alberta, Ontario and other areas of Canada. Our population is growing and our economy is strong with the Tech Sector, Tourism and Retail flourishing. Rental accommodation remains in critically short supply which has led to sharp increases in market rents over the past 6-8 months also making real estate as an investment more attractive. New measures announced by Canadian Finance Minister Morneau October 3, 2016 intended to further tighten lending and also target foreigners are sure to cool super-heated real estate markets nationwide. Time will tell how it might impact our Victoria market. Read full details HERE. Read full Victoria Real estate Board News release for September below. If you are considering buying or selling now or in the near future, please CONTACT US today for assistance and for your no-obligation personal consultation. Ron NealThe Neal Estate TeamRE/MAX Alliance Victoria nbsp; Victoria Housing Market Chills Out For Fall October 3 2016, Victoria, BC A total of 781 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this September, an increase of 10.9 per cent compared to the 704 properties sold in September last year. Inventory levels remain lower than last year, with 2,061 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Servicereg; at the end of September 2016, 40.7 per cent fewer than the 3,478 active listings at the end of September 2015. This is the lowest level of inventory on the market in September that we have on record [since 1996], notes Mike Nugent, 2016 President of the Board. This continuing lack of inventory holds up sales. The market is still strong, but not moving at the pace we saw earlier in the year. This slowdown is typical with what we expect in the fall to winter season and may be more pronounced as a result of buyer fatigue, due to the lack of available inventory. The Multiple Listing Servicereg; Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in September 2015 was $607,100. The benchmark value for the same home in September 2016 has increased by 22.8 per cent to $745,700. We have already exceeded the number of sales that we saw in 2015, with a full quarter remaining in the year, adds President Nugent. And there is still strong demand, thanks to underlying fundamentals in our province - the GDP is up, employment numbers are up, retail and population growth is up. All of these contribute to current market conditions. We also see no indication that the new foreign buyer Property Transfer Tax in Metro Vancouver has pushed foreign buyers into our market in a substantial way, though we continue to track that as a possibility.