I've just come across another article that talks about the huge gains that the US housing market is making each month.  While our market continues to be flat, in the US prices are up over 12% compared to last year.  

This is very good news not only for our friends to the south, but also for us here in Victoria.  We used to have a lot of american buyers before the 2008 recession.  We expect that, as their economy recovers, we should see them return - putting upwards price pressure on our local housing market.  Not great news for those sitting on the fence waiting for property values to drop, but great news for property owners.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/30/news/economy/home-prices/index.html?iid=s_mpm

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It seems that home buyers in Victoria like nothing better than a sale!  Single family house prices in our region continue to be lower than last year and this is driving a higher volume of sales than we normally would see at this time of the year.  Usually, the summer months get very quiet as vacation season sets in.  Yes, we are seeing a lower number of sales than in the peak of the Spring, but our current volume is still 11% higher than this time last summer.  With house prices off by about 3% compared to last year and even more relative to the year before, home buyers are snapping up the deals while they are available.  There is a feeling among higher end buyers that the corner has turned for the better in the world economy and that now is the time to buy property before prices head up.  Maybe they are right?

Prices are also down in the condo market by a similar amount, but no such luck with increased sales volume.  The condo market, especially the resale market, continues to struggle with dropping prices and an overabundance of choice.  To sell a condo today you need to offer exceptional value compared to your competition which translates to a condo in great condition combined with an asking price lower than you would expect.  

(h)(s)