Monthly Statistics Update for May 2021
Posted by Team Biberger on
MAY 2021 Market Update
MARKET CALMS SLIGHTLY IN MAY BUT CONTINUES TO SIZZLE
NANAIMO, BC – The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) reports that the housing market calmed slightly in May but is still the strongest experienced since 2016.
May saw sales of 534 single-family detached properties compared to 590 in April, a dip of nine per cent. In the condo apartment category, 150 units sold last month versus 133 in April, up by 13 per cent. In the townhouse market, sales dropped by 11 per cent, with 94 units selling in May compared to 106 the previous month. (Since the pandemic began at this time last year, and the economic lockdown significantly slowed down the housing market – at least initially – our usual year-over-year sales comparisons are not particularly helpful right now.)
Slight upticks in active listings are opening up a few more opportunities for buyers, but inventory on Vancouver Island is still historically tight. Active listings of single-family homes rose by nine per cent month over month while townhouse inventory increased by five per cent. In the condo apartment category, however, active listings dropped by 10 per cent from April.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that it would take approximately 2,500 new listings in the VIREB area to create a balanced housing market in the current conditions. Sellers remain firmly in the driver’s seat, and many buyers face fierce competition in their home search. Multiple offers are the norm rather than the exception, and many homes are selling over the asking price.
“Listings are up a little in certain markets, which is certainly good news for buyers,” says 2021 VIREB president Ian Mackay. “However, unless demand drops significantly or more housing supply comes online through new construction, we don’t see the inventory situation improving much.”
For more information, check out the following resources on REALTOR Link®.
Our May 2021 Market Update is provided above and available on YouTube; it summarizes our housing market in about two minutes.
Please note: The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) transitioned to a new MLS® System in July 2020 and now uses a significantly different data model, which has affected our categories and terminology. For the boardsupplied graphs, single-family is now referred to as single-family detached, apartment as condo apartment, and townhouse as row/townhouse, which now includes patio homes. However, when reporting HPI numbers, VIREB still refers to single-family, apartment, and townhouse in the media release.
ABOUT VIREB - VIREB represents over 1,000 REALTORS® in nearly 90 member offices on Vancouver Island, from the Malahat in the south to the northern tip. VIREB cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but does not indicate the actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR® ) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS® ). Visit our website for updated information at www.vireb.com. HPI Note: Areas with insufficient data do not generate statistics and are not included in the HPI graphs.
Courtesy of the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board