So far, it has been a very slow start to the spring market compared to previous years. Howver, Buyers were not complaining too much as some of the sellers were getting pretty anxious and accepting offers that seemed to be on the low side of what we were used to. Other buyers were holding off, feeling that prices were still going to drop further. After looking at the numbers for the last week, those buyers who are sitting on the side lines may want to re-evaluate their position.
Each year, the real estate market generally picks up steam in Victoria in mid-January. There was some serious nail biting this year when the expected increase in volume didn't happen on schedule. This week, it was "feeling" like the market was accelerating, and now we have the first set of numbers to back that up. 155 single family homes sold in the last 30 days, well up from the 91 that sold in the 30 day period ending in mid-January. These are much healthier numbers and are on par with last year - finally. Pricing is also rebounding after a dip in early January. Even better, the average days on market is dropping. With every indicator showing a significant improvement, I feel pretty confident that the market is now starting to pick up. This is great news for sellers who want to move. For buyers, there are still great deals out there, but they may start getting a bit picked over if things continue on this path. Again, buyers could be much better off to make their move now rather than waiting too much longer.
The results for the condo market are the same. More suites are selling, prices are moving upwards a bit, and the days on market is shrinking.
If you have a home to sell, we would recommend that, in general, you get it on the market before the end of February. You will still need to price it properly for the current market, but your chance of selling your home is growing, and should continue to improve for the next several months. We would caution against waiting too long to get on the market. As we move into March and April, we expect inventory to grow quite significantly. Once there are so many homes on the market, yours could get lost in the noise.
Here are the results from the last 30 days:
Over the last 30 days, 155 single family houses were sold, up by 13 houses from last week. The median price is up $7,500 to $500,000. The average house was on the market for 76 days. In the same time period, 99 condos were sold, up by 23 condos from last week. The median price is up $4,950 to $249,900. The average condo was on the market for 61 days. There are now 1,716 houses for sale, up by 59 from last week. Condo inventory has risen by 17 to 884 suites.
(h)(s)
