MONTHLY STATISTICS UPDATE FOR MAY 2023
Posted by Team Biberger on
MAY MARKET UPDATE
NANAIMO, BC – Last month, there were 488 sales of single-family homes in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area, an eight per cent increase from one year ago (450) and a 25 per cent increase from April 2023 (391). Sales of condo apartments in May came in at 86, declining by seven per cent year over year and increasing by 12 per cent from the previous month. In the row/ townhouse category, 94 units changed hands in May, down nine per cent from one year ago and up by seven per cent from April.
Active listings of single-family homes were 979 in May, up from 976 one year ago. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments hit 318 last month, up from 230 listings in May 2022. There were 252 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 168 one year ago.
“We’re seeing smartly priced homes and measured offers compared to last year, when the fear of missing out created a frenetic market,” says Kelly O’Dwyer, 2023 Chair. “It feels more reminiscent of a traditional pre-COVID spring.”
O’Dwyer adds that inventory is still a hurdle, and sales would be higher if more homes were available. Vancouver Island has been chronically undersupplied for a long time, and that dearth of inventory continues to be a roadblock for potential buyers.
“We’re encouraged by the provincial government’s Homes for People action plan and its commitment to reduce the red tape that sometimes hinders the construction of new homes,” says O’Dwyer. “However, the supply issue won’t be resolved overnight, as it can take 18 months or more to bring new inventory to the market.”
For more information and full update, check out the following resources on REALTOR Link®.
Our May 2023 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.