Victoria's housing market conditions continue to improve though the market remains highly vulnerable, according to the latest report from the federal housing agency.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says Greater Victoria's inventory of detached and semi-detached homes on the market is climbing, but remains "well below the threshold for overbuilding" in the second quarter of 2019.
Vacancy rates also remain low, despite an uptick in 2018 with new supply entering the market.
The Victoria Real Estate Board says there were 696 properties sold in the region in April. That's a 10 per cent drop from the 774 properties sold in April 2018, but an 8.8 per cent increase from March 2019.
Condo sales were also down 9.8 per cent last month from April 2018 with 203 units sold. That's a 3.6 per cent rise from March 2019.
"Spring has been a non-traditional real estate market thus far,” said Victoria Real Estate Board president Cheryl Woolley in a report Wednesday.
“Consumer purchasing power continues to be negatively impacted by the B20 mortgage stress test, causing many buyers to step back while they save more money for a down payment.”
The average price of a single-family home in Victoria's core fell by 3.4 per cent year-over-year in April. The average home price now stands at $845,100.
Meanwhile, the benchmark price for a condo in the core rose slightly from $506,900 in April 2018 to $511,700 in April 2019.
There were 2,751 active listings for sale in the Victoria area last month, an increase of 37.4 per cent from the 2,002 active listings at the end of April 2018.
