January home sales 'slowest we've seen on record' in Victoria: VREB
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.