January home sales 'slowest we've seen on record' in Victoria: VREB
January home sales 'slowest we've seen on record' in Victoria: VREB
For sale signs are pictured in Victoria in this file photo. (CTV News)
The Victoria Real Estate Board says 2023 is off to a slow start for home sales in the region.
Some 278 properties were sold in the Victoria area in January, down a whopping 41.4 per cent compared to the same time period in January 2022, and a decrease of 13.1 per cent compared to December 2022.
"If you’re looking at the statistics, this January was one of the slowest we’ve seen on record," said VREB chair Graden Sol in a release Wednesday.
"However, we did see a mid-month surge in activity as buyers seemed to regain confidence after the rapid interest rate increases of last year," he said.
Sol speculates that buyers and sellers may return to the market now that tumultuous interest rates have mostly settled down in Canada.
"Interest rates, continued low inventory and the greater economic situation in our area will determine what our early spring market will look like," he said.
Over the course of January, there were 1,739 active listings on the VREB "multiple listing service," marking a dramatic increase of about 133.7 per cent compared to the same time last year, when 744 active listings were on the service.
Sol notes that interest in properties that represent middle housing in Victoria remained relatively high during the slow month of January.
"The Victoria city council voting to move forward with their missing middle housing program is a great step in the right direction when we are considering how low inventory has impacted the attainability of housing in the CRD," said Sol.
"But this is one step in a marathon of work to be done to increase housing opportunities to meet our community’s short- and long-term needs," he said.
Sol encourages every municipality in Greater Victoria to continue adding housing density and inventory where possible.
Data from VREB's multiple listing service put the benchmark price of a home in Victoria at $1.25 million, in January, while the benchmark price for a condo was $578,300.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
A coroner has denied a request from a former Toronto police officer to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was committing "suicide by cop."
A 2021 plane crash at the Westlock Airport was caused by an "unstable visual approach" to the landing runway, a Transportation Safety Board investigator has found.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A coroner has denied a request from a former Toronto police officer to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was committing "suicide by cop."
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
It's been two weeks since a major fire ripped through a heritage building in the heart of Old Montreal, killing seven people and forever altering the lives of families across the globe. For the families of those who died, the grieving process is only starting.
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.
Two Manitoba hunting outfitters have been fined thousands of dollars and lost their licenses after a four-year investigation revealed numerous violations of the wildlife act.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Dog kennels are bursting at the seams as pet owners forced to give up their furry friends struggle with risings costs of living. Despite a rise in cat and kitten adoptions, dog adoptions are down by over 50 per cent.
A Saskatoon murder trial is being adjourned to allow police to follow-up on "significant information" that just came to the Crown prosecutor's attention Wednesday.
A community-focused historian has found several potential ancient artifacts along the Saskatchewan River, including a bison bone that is over 8,000 years old.
There are exciting plans for Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Sudbury. Built in 1927, the former church was sold after its congregation dwindled and will be transformed into a concert hall.
For sale signs are pictured in Victoria in this file photo. (CTV News)
