New figures from the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) show decreases in real estate prices for many but not all parts of the region.
Sales declined 6.4 per cent from July as 661 properties changed hands in August. But sales rose 11.3 per cent in August compared to August 2018. This “uptick in sales” as described by VREB’s president Cheryl Woolley has coincided with stable, even softening price points as the home price index for a single-family home in the core communities was $847,300 in August, down marginally from July, but down almost 4.6 per cent from August 2018.
Condominiums in the core communities, meanwhile, rose in price year-to-year by 2.9 per cent to $518,100 in August while dropping from July.
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“August could be considered a status quo month for real estate in Greater Victoria with entry-level homes selling quickly when priced appropriately, and higher-end properties moving at a slower pace,” said Woolley.
The price softening appears across most of the region, especially in the core communities. Consider the east side of Saanich, where the cost of a single-family home has dropped by more than $40,000 to $860,000 within 12 months. Comparable price drops have also taken place in Victoria and Victoria West. Prices have also dropped in Oak Bay, with the proviso that its real estate is still the most expensive in the region. If the average single-family home sold for $1.3 million a year ago, it currently sells for about $1.19 million.
Many West Shore communities, meanwhile, bucked this regional trend. Single-family homes in Langford, Colwood, and Sooke are also fetching higher prices than they did a year ago, according to the figures.
Of the three Saanich Peninsula communities, prices remained stable in North Saanich, fell slightly in Central Saanich, and rose in Sidney.
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