No change on the horizon for the Victoria real estate market

The November 2021 Victoria real estate market stats show a total of 653 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this November, which is 17.9 percent fewer than the 795 properties sold in November 2020 and 12.3 percent fewer than the previous month of October. Additionally, 236 condominiums sold, 5.2 percent fewer than in the previous month of October. Lastly, 276 single-family homes sold, 18.6 percent fewer than in the previous month of October.

“Strong demand for housing in our community continues to exceed the ultra-low number of listings of
homes available for sale,” said Victoria Real Estate Board President David Langlois.
“This demand creates competition and pressure on pricing and we continue to see home values notch up. At this moment in time,
there are fewer than 600 residential properties for sale in our market.”

There were 887 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the
end of November 2021, which is 51.1 percent fewer properties than the 1,813 available at the end of November
2020 and 14.4 percent fewer properties than the 1,036 active listings for sale at the end of October 2021.

Benchmark Prices

The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single-family home in the Victoria
Core in November 2020 was $903,700. The benchmark value for the same home in November 2021
increased by 24.2 percent to $1,122,600, which is a 1.7 percent increase from the previous month of October. The
MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core in November 2020 was $485,100,
while the benchmark value for the same condominium in November 2021 increased by 15.6 percent to
$560,700.

“Only with strong measures around supply will we see a lift in the pressures on our housing market,” added
President Langlois.
“Governments continue to try to intervene by using demand side measures, such as
the province announcing their plan to introduce a ‘cooling off’ period for resale homes. This concept
was delivered without industry consultation or supporting data. Introducing measures that add uncertainty
to the marketplace fails to address the issues of supply and attainability in our community – and
threatens to make the supply situation worse. A cooling-off period will not increase consumer protection – in
fact many of the unintended consequences of such a policy could decrease protection for both buyers and
sellers. The housing market is complex and policy must be evidence-based and designed for all types of
markets – not to react to a moment in time. The government needs to sharpen their focus on the issue that
has been documented for years – that a consistent delay in the delivery of homes to meet the needs of our
growing population has created housing gridlock.”

November 2021 Victoria Real Estate Market Stats