As we head into the depths of summer, when many people are usually on vacation, we typically see a significant slowdown in the real estate market. It is not unusual for the summer months to see sales drop 20% or more. However, this summer is playing out quite differently! Single family home sales continue to be quite brisk with the number of home sold in the last few weeks up nearly 10% compared to last summer. Prices have not risen, are are relatively equal to last year, with many buyers feeling that Victoria is "on sale."
This mentality that Victoria is a bit of a bargain right now is coming even more from the high end property buyers. Some of our wealthiest and most connected multi-millionaire clients are telling us that they feel that the North American economy has turned the corner for the positive. They point to the strong recovery in the US housing market and the robust stock market, saying that their peers are feeling more confident and are loosening up the purse strings. Some are buying now because they feel that if they don't it will soon be too late to get a great deal in our fair city. Since a large portion of our buyers before the recession were from Alberta or from the US, this mindset could be very good for our local real estate market.
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