In a competitive environment for real estate sales, Dustin Miller is looking for an edge.
The Sotheby’s Realty agent is hoping to appeal to potential buyers considering Langford for their next home by producing – with local Multiple Listing Service statistics – a series of graphs outlining the growth of the market in the city.
“I’m starting to work my way through each municipality,” he says, having created similar information for Oak Bay. His next project is the region’s condominium market.
“I want to make people more informed about the general macro market out there, and the graphs generalize the trends,” he says.
Among the interesting data he’s uncovered about Langford real estate trends through working with the MLS files is the major difference in prices, and volume between listings that sold and those that either expired or were taken off the market.
Where, between 2010 and 2013, listings that expired or were cancelled far outpaced sold units in the city, 2014 saw an abrupt flip flop in that trend.
As for prices, average sold numbers have been slipping ever so slightly since 2011, while the average price of unsold or cancelled properties have been on a sharp upward trend since 2012.
That could mean a number of things, says Miller (left), but often it points to homeowners pricing their properties unrealistically.
“We saw a $120,000 gap,” he says of the difference between roughly $485,000 and $605,000. “That could be because higher-priced real estate doesn’t necessarily do as well out there.”
While many buyers have been drawn to the more affordable new construction around the city limits, pricier areas such as Bear Mountain are included in Langford’s number, he notes.
In the still-recovering condo market, the difference between expired and sold prices was far less extreme. Both figures were trending downward between 2013 and 2014, but the averages were inching closer together, with unsold listing prices about $12,000 higher than the average sold price of roughly $275,000.
For families and others trying to figure out where to buy, Miller’s statistical work can be a helpful tool.
He can be reached at demiller@sothebysrealty.ca.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
Q: WHAT IS ATTRACTING NEWCOMERS TO THE CITY OF LANGFORD?
It’s no secret why Langford council’s formula for attracting families and businesses has boosted the West Shore city to near or at the top of the country’s fastest-growing communities on any given day.
Factors such as Langford council’s strong focus on creating jobs and their commitment to providing the best recreational options in the Capital Region, coupled with a downtown beautification program in the past five years, have created the perfect storm for people of all ages looking for a community where everything you need is minutes away and easily accessible.
Throw in an expanding, award-winning trail system, three accessible lakes and more parks per capita by comparison to other communities, and it’s really no surprise.
One of the keys spurring the rapid growth is the variety of affordable housing options, including a burgeoning rental market, which is virtually non existent in many parts of the Capital Region.
