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After the initial shock of the impact of the Covid-19 virus on the economy in early spring, the real estate market in Victoria rebounded quickly in the summer and the momentum carried through the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.

Residential listings through the VREB’s MLS® totalled 11,647, up +1.9% from 11,427 in 2019. Residential sales totalled 8,060, up +16.9% from 6,892 in 2019, but still below the record of 10,028 sales in 2016. The sales-tonew-listings ratio was .69 up from .61 in 2019. The value of residential sales through the VREB MLS® was $6.271 billion in 2020, up +32.1% from $4.746 billion in 2019. The average sale price of a residential property in 2020 was $777,993 (a new high), up $89,304 or +13.0% from $688,689 in 2019. The market strength continued into the 4 th Qtr of 2020. There were 2,259 residential sales, up +50% from 1,506 in the 4 th Qtr of 2019. The average sale price was $794,559, up $80,354, or +13.3% from $714,205 in the 4 th Qtr of 2019. The median sale price was $690,000, an increase of $45,500, or +7.0% over $645,000 in the 4th Qtr of 2019.

THE MARKET INVENTORY

There were 883 properties active on the VREB’s MLS® database for the Greater Victoria area (i.e., excluding the Malahat, Up-Island and the Gulf Islands) on Jan 1, 2021, down -32.7% from 1,312 on Jan 1, 2020. (This is the lowest inventory level in over two decades).

SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS (SFDS)

Sales of SFDs in the Greater Victoria area totalled 3,941 in 2020, up +18.5% from 3,325 sales in 2019. Driven in large part by the sale of luxury homes, the average sale price of SFDs in 2020 reached $1,019,855 (a new high), up $141,098 or +16.1% from $878,757 in 2019. The median sale price was $870,000, up $70,100 or +8.8% from $799,900 in 2019. The sales-to-newlistings ratio rose to .73, up from .58 in 2019. SFDs that sold in 2020 were on the market for an average of 37 days, down from 43 days in 2019. As shown in Chart 2, the sale price of SFDs has been on a steady upward trend since the 1 st Qtr of 2019. The average sale price in the 4 th Qtr of 2020 was $1,061,925, up $139,109, or +15.2% from $922,816 in the 4th Qtr of 2019.

CONDOMINIUMS

Condominium sales totalled 2,409 in 2020, up +8.7% from 2,217 sales in 2019. The average sale price for a condo was $484,740 in 2020, up +2.9% from $471,169 in 2019. The median sale price was $429,000, up +2.4% from $419,000 in 2019. The sales-to-new-listings ratio was .60, down from .62 in 2019. Condos that sold in 2020 were on the market for an average of 41 days, up slightly from 40 days in 2019. The sale prices of condominiums remained relatively flat over the past three years. The average sale price in the 4 th Qtr of 2020 was $484,412, up $11,868, or +2.5% from $472,544 in the 4th Qtr of 2019.

TOWNHOUSES

Townhouse sales totalled 1,029 in 2020, up +24.4% from 827 in 2019. The average selling price was $615,861 in 2020, up +2.2% from $602,870 in 2019. The median sale price was $577,000, up +4.0% from $555,000 in 2019. The sales-to-newlistings ratio was .77, compared to .62 in 2019. Townhouses that sold in 2020 were on the market for an average of 40 days, little changed from 41 days in 2019. After peaking in the 4 th Qtr of 2018, prices remained fairly flat until the past Qtr. The average sale price in the 4 th Qtr of 2020 was $655,792, up $59,652 or +10.0% from $596,140 in the 4th Qtr of 2019.

LOTS/ACREAGE

Sales of Lots/Acreage totalled 207 in 2020, up from 169 in 2019. The average sale price was $649,199, compared to $403,399 in 2019. The median sale price was $560,000 in 2020, compared to $329,000 in 2019.