Kevin Reid
NANAIMO – The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 1,101 unit sales (all categories) last month, a 39 per cent increase from August 2019.
A total of 547 single-family detached properties (excluding acreage and waterfront) sold in August, a year-over-year increase of 35 per cent. Sales of condo apartments rose by 43 per cent year over year while row/townhouse sales increased by 19 per cent.
“Our housing market rebounded from the COVID-19 downturn far more quickly than expected,” says VIREB president Kevin Reid. “Pent-up demand, low interest rates, and persistent supply shortages are fueling the recovery.”
Active listings of single-family detached properties (excluding acreage and waterfront) totaled 1,081 in August, while there were 427 condo apartments and 221 row/townhouses for sale last month. Reid acknowledges there is still uncertainty around the Canadian economy and U.S. election, but he is optimistic, a sentiment echoed by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).
“The outlook for the BC housing market is much brighter following a surprisingly strong recovery,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Chief Economist. “We expect home sales will sustain this momentum into 2021, aided by record-low mortgage rates and a recovering economy.”
BCREA expects unit sales on Vancouver Island to hit 8,300 in 2021, a 15 per cent increase over the 7,200 sales projected this year. The benchmark price of a single-family home hit $533,300 in August, an increase of three per cent from the previous year but two per cent lower than in July. (Benchmark pricing tracks the value of a typical home in the reported area.)
The year-over-year benchmark price of an apartment rose by five per cent, hitting $312,000 but down marginally from July. The benchmark price of a townhouse rose by four percent year over year, climbing to $432,300 and up by one percent from July.
For the Malahat and area, the benchmark price of a single-family home last month was $610,200, a seven per cent increase from August 2019. In Campbell River, the benchmark price hit $455,600, up two per cent over last year. In the Comox Valley, the benchmark price reached $537,300, up by three per cent from one year ago.
Duncan reported a benchmark price of $480,200, an increase of one per cent from August 2019.
Nanaimo’s benchmark price rose by three per cent to $575,100, while the Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price increase by three per cent to $608,300.
The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni reached $329,100, a four per cent increase from one year ago.
For the North Island, the benchmark price was $221,000, an 11 per cent increase over last year.