Compared to the July 2023 stats, July 2024 saw a 9.2% increase in properties sold and 38% increase in active listings.
You can reach out to me directly for exact numbers but if you’re watching the market, you’ll feel that it seems a lot of properties are just sitting and not selling.
Although our sales are averaging more per month than last year, this increase in inventory is bringing us towards a more balanced market.
Buyers have more to choose from and because of this “days on market” are increasing.
Victoria Real Estate Board’s July 2024 Market Statistics
Properties Sold:
595
Active Listings:
2,419
Benchmark Single Family:
$1,322,800
Benchmark Condo:
$571,500
Previous Month
(June 2024)
Properties Sold:
661
Active Listings:
3,460
Benchmark Single Family:
$1,295,500
Benchmark Condo:
$567,900
Current Stats
(July 2024)
Properties Sold:
650
Active Listings:
3,348
Benchmark Single Family:
$1,296,100
Benchmark Condo:
$567,800
So what does this mean? If you’re a seller, expect increased competition and a longer time to sell. If you are noticing properties you are interested in, and you need to sell before you buy, we always recommend getting your property listed before going out and making offers. This gives you an opportunity to see how the market responds to your property, and helps your offer appear stronger if we are including a “subject to sale” sellers’ condition. We can talk about risk tolerance and ways to manage risk if this is a scenario you are finding yourself in.
If you’re a buyer, understand that although more inventory means more options, there are still plenty of buyers out there. With sharply priced homes, it’s not uncommon to see multiple offer scenarios.
Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement Schedule for 2024
January 24: Hold at Policy Rate of 5%
March 6: Hold at Policy Rate of 5%
April 10: Hold at Policy Rate of 5%
June 5: Decrease to Policy Rate of 4.75%
July 24: Decrease to Policy Rate of 4.5%
September 4: TBA
October 23: TBA
December 11: TBA
For the second time this year, Bank of Canada has dropped it’s policy interest rate another 0.25%, landing at 4.5%.
We’ve noticed little change to the market so far, which can be attributed to a healthy number of active listings.
BC Residential Tenancy Act Changes
Another major announcement is the changes to the Residential Tenancy Act.
Previously, if you were selling your property that was tenanted and the buyer wanted to move in, or you had an immediate family member moving in, you needed to provide the tenants with two months notice with one month’s rent compensation.
On top of this, either yourself (if you had family move in), or the new buyer could not re-rent that unit for a minimum of 6 months after the eviction.
Because the Residential Tenancy Branch has seen a large increase in bad-faith evictions (essentially evictions with the main goal being to push out long-term tenants to re-rent at market rate), they initially changed the act to require four months notice to tenants, and lengthened the period of time that units could not be re-rented for to 12 months after an eviction.
This caused major, unintended consequences, primarily with the four months notice period affecting first time home buyers, high ratio mortgage approvals, and rate holds. Because of this, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) wrote to the BC Government and was able to get the four month period reduced to three months if vacant possession is being asked for by a purchaser.
If a landlord has an immediate family member moving in, it is still the four months.
Here’s where things get sticky. The BC Government announced that to help with wait times, they have created a portal that the evictions must go through. When you are using this portal, in order to upload an effective notice to tenants, you must upload the Contract of Purchase and Sale from the buyer and seller.
Of course, this is causing a large amount of pushback in regards to privacy. Should the tenants know the names of the new buyers or what the seller is selling for? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Next Steps?
Homeowners: Contact us for a free, no-obligation home equity check to gain a deeper understanding of your position in the market.
Buyers: We’re here to help, no matter what stage you’re at, to determine the most effective pathway towards achieving your real estate goals.
Contact us: 250-634-2141 (call or text) or [email protected]
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With gratitude,
Alex Hughes* and Ricki-Lee Jewell, Victoria, BC Real Estate Agents
*Personal Real Estate Corporation
