MONTHLY STATISTICS UPDATE FOR MAY 2024
Posted by Team Biberger on
MAY 2024 MARKET UPDATE
NANAIMO, BC – The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) recorded 824 unit sales boardwide (all property types) on the MLS® System in May 2024. In the single-family category (excluding acreage and waterfront), 409 homes sold in May, down 14 per cent from one year ago and up nine per cent from April. Sales of condo apartments last month came in at 92, increasing by 11 per cent year over year and up 23 per cent from April. In the row/townhouse category, 108 units changed hands in May, up 17 per cent from one year ago and 30 per cent from April.
Active listings of single-family homes were 1,433 in May, an increase from the 979 posted one year ago. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments was 398 last month, up from 318 in May 2023. There were 375 row/townhouses for sale last month compared to 252 the previous year.
VIREB Chief Executive Officer Jason Yochim says that the typically busy spring market is slow to launch this year.
“Last month, we were optimistic that the spring market had finally arrived,” says Yochim. “However, while sales did pick up somewhat in May, we’re still not where we usually are heading into summer.”
Yochim notes there are likely several reasons fuelling VIREB’s lagging sales, including investor concerns surrounding higher capital gains taxes and consumer worries regarding long-term affordability. Some buyers are also waiting for interest-rate cuts.
“On a positive note, VIREB’s inventory of single-family homes rose by 46 per cent in May, while active listings of all property types are up by 33 per cent board-wide,” says Yochim. “The VIREB market is now in balanced territory, which is great news for buyers and sellers.”
Regardless of market conditions, connecting with a local REALTOR® can help smooth the way to a successful real estate transaction.
For more information and full update, check out the following resources on REALTOR Link®.
Our MAY 2024 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.