CONTINUING INVENTORY GAINS POSITIVE SIGN FOR NEW YEAR

Last month, 244 single-family homes sold in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area, a 30 percent decrease from one year ago and down by two percent from October. There were 54 condo apartment sales in November 2022, a decline of 50 percent year over year and up by 29 percent from October. In the row/townhouse category, 46 units changed hands in November, down 52 percent from one year ago and 10 percent from October.

There were 1,195 active listings of single-family detached properties last month, compared to 301 in November 2021 and 1,360 in October. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments was 286 in November 2022, up from 96 listings one year ago and down from 314 in October. There were 266 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 64 one year ago and 296 in October.

“Our statistics indicate that active listings are nearing our 10-year average, which is a positive development and good news for buyers,” says Erica Kavanaugh, 2022 VIREB Chair. “Lack of inventory contributed to the creation of a long-standing sellers’ market that presented many challenges for our buyers, particularly those purchasing a home for the first time.”

Although the scale of year-over-year price increases has decreased, it still costs more to buy a home in the VIREB area than in November 2021. The board-wide benchmark price of a single-family home climbed to $772,800 in November, an increase of five percent from one year ago but down by two percent from October. In the apartment category, the benchmark price was $414,900 last month, a 10 percent increase from November 2021 and up slightly from October. The year-over-year benchmark price of a townhouse rose by six percent to $566,300 but dropped by three percent from October.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $679,200 in November, up one percent from the previous year. The Comox Valley’s year-over-year benchmark price rose by three percent to $807,900. The Cowichan Valley reported a benchmark price of $793,500, an increase of five percent from November 2021. Nanaimo’s benchmark price rose by six percent, reaching $800,100, while the Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price
increase by two percent to $887,000. The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni reached $552,200, up nine percent from the previous year. For the North Island, the benchmark price of a single-family home rose by 15 percent to $462,700.