In July, the Parksville Qualicum Beach area’s benchmark home price increased by two per cent, to $604,900.
According to a Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) release, property values on Vancouver Island are recovering from the hit they took in April and part of may due to COVID-19.
“A total of 892 units sold in July 2020, down four per cent from the 931 sales posted in July 2019. Breaking down those sales by category, 574 single-family detached properties sold on the MLS® System last month compared to 573 in June 2020 and 554 in July 2019. Sales of condo apartments dipped by 14 per cent year over year while row/townhouse sales dropped by 16 per cent,” read a VIREB release.
READ MORE: Single-family home benchmark price rises to $570K in Parksville area
Some of Parksville’s neighbours also went up in value. The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni is $342,700 as of July, which is a seven per cent increase from a year ago. Nanaimo’s price also went up seven per cent, putting their cost at $593,600.
VIREB president Kevin Reid said he’s not sure how the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) ending will affect the housing market, but points to many of the layoffs affecting younger people who might have not been entering the housing market anyway.
“Our housing market has seemingly rebounded from the COVID-19 dip we witnessed in April,” said VIREB president Kevin Reid. “We believe that the recovery is being fueled by low interest rates and supply shortages, and we’re cautiously optimistic that the turnaround will last.”
— NEWS staff
