However, June remains a weak month for the BC capital city’s housing segment
Latest data from the Victoria Real Estate Board showed that among the BC capital city’s real estate assets, single-family homes dominated sales activity last month.
Transactions involving this property type grew by 10.4% annually in June. This was in stark contrast with the 6.1% decline suffered by the condo segment during this time frame.
Overall home sales in June were 4.5% greater than that seen during the same month last year. However, the June figures were 12.7% lower than the transaction level measured in May 2019.
“June has trended lower than May for the past few years and tends to signal the end of the active spring market,” VREB president Cheryl Woolley explained. “The summer months of July and August generally see less activity than the spring, as people’s attention shifts to vacation and away from real estate. This year, we have seen slightly more sales compared to June of last year.
“We have also seen one hundred fewer new listings enter the market this year, which continues to make a challenging market for buyers who are hoping for more options.”
As for prices, the benchmark value for single-family homes in the core was $859,600 last month, lower by 4.3% year-over-year. For condo units, the benchmark value ticked up by 2.97% annually to reach $524,100.
“It is possible that some buyers are waiting for the federal government’s new first-time home buyer incentive to roll out this September,” Woolley noted.
“It’s hard to estimate how many local buyers may take advantage of the incentive, but because of the low threshold for maximum purchase price, the program may only help those in our area who seek to buy condos. This could mean a slight uplift in lower priced properties in the fall, if more buyers are enabled to enter the market.”
