A day early: April stats

MLS numbers courtesy of the VREB via Marko Juras. These numbers are for the Victoria Real Estate Board's reporting area, including Sooke, Shawnigan Lake and the Gulf Islands.

April 2012 month to date (previous weeks in brackets)

Net Unconditional Sales: 564 {417} [265] (145)

New Listings: 1372 {1050} [698] (377)

Active Listings: 4393 {4307} [4230] (4116)

Sales to new listings ratio: 41% {40%} [38%] (38%)

April 2011

Net Unconditional Sales: 574

New Listings: 1577

Active Listings: 4561

Sales to new listings ratio: 36%

Sales to active listings ratio: 12.5% or 7.9 MOI

These numbers will, of course, change as there's still 24 hours of sales input time left. 

Average SFH price sits at just under $630,000 this month. Naturally, this was driven up by a larger volume of $1M+ home sales than in recent months--though you can make the same argument for any segment of the market in the spring time here. 

April 23rd Monday market update

MLS numbers courtesy of the VREB via Marko Juras. These numbers are for the Victoria Real Estate Board's reporting area, including Sooke, Shawnigan Lake and the Gulf Islands.

April 2012 month to date (previous weeks in brackets)

Net Unconditional Sales: 417 [265] (145)

New Listings: 1050 [698] (377)

Active Listings: 4307 [4230] (4116)

Sales to new listings ratio: 40% [38%] (38%)

April 2011

Net Unconditional Sales: 574

New Listings: 1577

Active Listings: 4561

Sales to new listings ratio: 36%

Sales to active listings ratio: 12.5% or 7.9 MOI

Unit sales per day took a bit of a jump this past week to bring the monthly average up to almost 19 per day. They were running at just over 17 per day in the previous week. Is this significant? Not really. Sales numbers continue to lag the long term average despite getting into the so-called silly season of buying activity in Victoria.

UPDATE: Ben Rabidoux of The Economic Anlayst blog has a piece published on the MacLeans magazine website today. It's a must read. Ben examines changes coming to Canada's mortgage market that will have the potential to seriously reverse the availability of credit in Canada.

But don't worry Victoria. Nobody pays anything other than cash for properties here. 

April 16: Monday Market Update

MLS numbers courtesy of the VREB via Marko Juras. These numbers are for the Victoria Real Estate Board's reporting area, including Sooke, Shawnigan Lake and the Gulf Islands.

April 2012 month to date (previous weeks in brackets)

Net Unconditional Sales: 265 (145)

New Listings: 698 (377)

Active Listings: 4230 (4116)

Sales to new listings ratio: 38% (38%)

April 2011

Net Unconditional Sales: 574

New Listings: 1577

Active Listings: 4561

Sales to new listings ratio: 36%

Sales to active listings ratio: 12.5% or 7.9 MOI

It seems sluggish sales are the new normal. Although the high MOI would indicate we are firmly into buyer's market territory for the past year, I don't see a really convincing move in prices yet. Sale price to assessment for the lower end has fallen back down to 95%, while the higher priced properties are selling closer to their assessed value. Either low end prices are weakening, or those kinds of properties are chronically over-assessed.

Monday market update: look familiar yet?

MLS numbers courtesy of the VREB via Marko Juras. These numbers are for the Victoria Real Estate Board's reporting area, including Sooke, Shawnigan Lake and the Gulf Islands.

April 2012 month to date

Net Unconditional Sales: 145 

New Listings: 377

Active Listings: 4116

Sales to new listings ratio: 38% 

April 2011

Net Unconditional Sales: 574

New Listings: 1577

Active Listings: 4561

Sales to new listings ratio: 36%

Sales to active listings ratio: 12.5% or 7.9 MOI

16 unit sales per day. Long weekend in there too. Of the top of my head, I'd say that's down, slightly, from what it would have been this time last year. Certainly no signs of an uptick.

The more we analyze this market, the more convinced I am that interest rates are the major driver of prices today and have been now for several years. 

A good problem to have

Too many comments on the last post. He's a holdover post till we do the next market update, as soon as data is known. Hope you all had or are having an enjoyable long weekend!

March 2012: more of the same

MLS numbers courtesy of the VREB via Marko Juras. These numbers are for the Victoria Real Estate Board's reporting area, including Sooke, Shawnigan Lake and the Gulf Islands.

March 2012 month to date

Net Unconditional Sales: 570 (433, 281, 152)

New Listings: 1385 (1066, 760, 465)

Active Listings: 4274 (3997, 3908, 3832)

Sales to new listings ratio: 41% (41%, 37%, 33%)

Sales to active listings ratio: 13% or 7.5 MOI

March 2011

Net Unconditional Sales: 622

New Listings: 1501

Active Listings: 4100

Sales to new listings ratio: 41%

Sales to active listings ratio: 15% or 6.6 MOI

Listings piling on, sales continue to be lackluster. Price pressure? Certainly not to the upside. As Marko has been telling us, the mix of sales, including plenty over the $1M mark will pull the reported average price upwards for March from February.