Victoria’s real estate experiences three consecutive record-breaking months

It’s been three months of back-to-back record breaking growth for Victoria’s real estate industry.

May is now in the books with the most number of properties sold at 1,289. That’s three units more than April, and 168 more than March.

Re/max Alliance owner Ron Neal said it is an exciting time to be in the real estate business.

“I’ve been in the business for 25 years and May was personally the busiest month I have ever had,” said Neal.

In this blazing hot real estate market, new listings are coming down almost as quickly as they go up. And that has caused the number of active listings in May to be down by 40 per cent compared to the same time last year.

“We are actually taking almost the same number of listings as we do every year but because of the strength of sales, the amount of listings left on the market is very low,” said Victoria Real Estate Board President Mike Nugent.

There are a number of influencing factors – the strong BC economy, a strong job market, and growing GDP, according to the VREB. There’s also a growing interest from Vancouver buyers in specific Victoria neighbourhoods.

“We know that certain areas of Fairfield, Oak Bay and Saanich there are as much as 20 per cent of buyers from the Vancouver area,” Nugent said.

With limited supply, and increasing demand, it’s not only more difficult to buy a home, it’s more expensive.

The MLS home price index benchmark for a single family home in the Victoria core in May was $706,500. The value for the same home in May 2015 was $593,200. That’s an increase of almost 20 per cent.

“The wave has hit and we are overdue,” said Neal.

“People talk about a bubble, our bubble is up because we sat flat for ten years while Vancouver doubled, so we have some catch up to do and we are doing it quickly.”

Normally spring is the busiest season for real estate, but with this level of feverish activity, Victoria’s real estate market is likely to keep sizzling well into the summer months.