Greater Victoria is seeing continued downward pressure on housing prices as statistics released this week show slowing sales and an uptick of inventory on the real estate market.
July had 523 home sales in Greater Victoria, which include single family homes, townhomes, condos, mobile homes and empty lots, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board’s multiple listing service.
The volume is nearly 100 less than June 2011 with 618 sales, but is similar to July 2010 which had 527 sales.
“In the coming months, we anticipate that market activity will remain relatively stable and similar to what we saw during the summer and early fall months of last year,” Dennis Fimrite, Victoria Real Estate Board president said in a release.
The region had 5,094 properties for sale at the end of July, a 14 per cent increase compared to a year ago. June 2011 had 5,050 properties for sale.
With that volume, Fimrite said sellers need to be “realistic in pricing,” suggesting Greater Victoria to some degree is a buyer’s market.
Home sales on the West Shore remain relatively robust, with 30 single family home sales in Langford and 13 in Colwood in July.
The main difference from a year ago is price: this year the average sale price in Langford was $493,000 versus $499,000 in 2010. Colwood too saw downward pressure, with the average sale price at about $490,000 versus $513,000 one year ago.
The story is the same for condominiums. Langford saw 19 sold in July for an average $276,000. More condos were sold than in July 2010, but for about $7,000 less on average.
See www.vreb.org for current and historical pricing statistics.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com