Victoria’s exploding housing market is forcing some families to think smaller, according to new numbers released by the Victoria Real Estate Board.
Condo sales jumped up in the B.C. capital five per cent in October over the prior month, and more than 22 per cent from October 2015, according to the VREB.
The average price for a condo jumped by nearly 18 per cent to $394,571 in October, up from $335,369 in October 2015.
Experts say the sales bump comes in part from young families that can’t afford single detached homes.
“When you see single-family homes, specifically in the Victoria-Saanich area, start costing $700,000 to $800,000…most young families can’t afford it so they start looking for a condo solution,” said realtor and developer Bradley Stokes-Bennett.
“Very rarely has it been families in the past. People saying ‘I want to buy something and raise a family in this condo unit.’ That’s very rare, that’s changing.”
Another factor driving the price jump is lack of supply, said Stokes-Bennett.
“We usually slow down a lot toward Christmas, but last month we saw demand,” he said. “We don’t have enough supply so therefore prices are going up.”
In October, there were only 276 active condo listings in the market compared to 647 a year ago.
While it seems like condo construction lies around every turn in Victoria, experts say newer listings will be likely be snapped up quickly, as was the case for new development The Wade this weekend.
Shovels haven’t even hit the ground on the project, but 41 per cent of presales have already sold over the course of the weekend.
Meanwhile, the benchmark price for single family homes in the Victoria core continued its skyward climb, jumping to $755,000 in October 2016, according to VREB.
That’s a 24.1 per cent increase over 2015, when it was $608,200.
