Released on November 1st, 2013 by the Victoria Real Estate Board

VICTORIA BC – Greater Victoria continued to experience strong home sales during the month of October, reports the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB). According to the Board’s MLS® System, 512 properties sold compared to 373 in October 2012, an increase of 37.27 per cent. There were 4,322 active listings.

“While we are all very pleased with the October results, we are tempering our enthusiasm,” says Shelley Mann, Board President. “After a slow market for the last half of 2012, we are still climbing back to previous annual sales numbers.”

Today, the VREB and joins the Canadian Real Estate Association and ten major real estate markets in Canada by adopting a new approach to the reporting of trends in residential property prices. Instead of relying on average and median sale prices which are subject to fluctuation, the Board moved to a new system called the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI). The methodology used by MLS® HPI has been endorsed by Statistics Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Bank of Canada, Finance Canada and Central 1 Credit Union.

At the heart of the MLS® HPI is the concept of the “benchmark” home, a notional home comprising the most common attributes of typical homes in a given area. Through the analysis of ten years of VREB MLS® sales data, MLS® HPI has defined benchmark homes for Greater Victoria as a whole as well as for each of our regions, districts and neighbourhoods. In each of these areas, MLS® HPI has defined a benchmark home for each category: single family homes, townhouses and condo apartments. Each month, VREB MLS® sales data will be fed into the MLS® HPI to calculate and track changes in the prices of our benchmark homes.

Benchmark prices are generally lower than corresponding medians and averages. MLS® HPI estimates the values of our typical homes, whereas medians and averages merely reflect the overall selling prices of the particular mix of homes that sold in a given month.

In a manner similar to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), MLS® HPI maintains a running index of the percentage change in benchmark prices. Like the CPI, the MLS® HPI assigns an index value of 100 to the benchmark prices at its starting point: January 2005. By tracking both benchmark prices and index values each month, MLS® HPI will provide a much clearer picture of real estate market trends in Greater Victoria.

“Past reporting of averages and medians showed flat pricing across the Board’s trading area but MLS® HPI indicates a moderate decline in prices in many markets over the last year,” Mann says. “Benchmark prices are flat month-over-month, and we will be watching very carefully to see where pricing goes.

“With average and median prices, it was often difficult to gauge whether prices of typical homes were rising or falling, but the HPI provides us with exactly this type of information,” she says.

For October 2013, the benchmark price for the Greater Victoria single family benchmark home was $485,400 and its corresponding MLS® HPI index value was 137.2. (This represents a 37.2 per cent increase since January 2005, when the index was 100). This benchmark price increased 0.15 per cent over the past month and decreased 3.18 per cent over the last year.

At the regional level, the benchmark price for the single family benchmark home in the Core municipalities was $547,800, a decrease of 0.56 per cent over the previous month and a 2.66 per cent decrease over October 2012. In Westshore, the benchmark price for the single family benchmark home was $410,600, a decrease of 0.37 per cent over September 2013 and 4.37 per cent decrease over October 2012. The benchmark price for the single family benchmark home on the Peninsula was $508,700 for September, an increase of 1.22 per cent over the previous month and a 3.56 per cent decrease year-over-year.

There were a total of 274 single family homes sold in September, an increase of 29 per cent over September 2012. September also saw the reporting of 126 condominium sales and 51 townhouse sales in Greater Victoria. Benchmark prices for the Greater Victoria condominium benchmark home and for the Greater Victoria townhouse benchmark home for September $283,100 and $393,100 respectively.

Total Waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 17, up 2 over October 2012
Total Non-waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 257, up 62 over October 2012
Single Family Dwellings sold over $1 million: 16 (1 over $2 million)

For more information on MLS®HPI benchmark prices and index values for September, visit www.vreb.org. Those requiring specific information on property values in their area should contact a REALTOR®. The Victoria Real Estate Board has 1,224 Members.

 

 

Published by the Victoria Real Estate Board October 2013

What is the MLS® HPI?

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) is one of several tools your REALTOR® uses to help you gain a solid understanding of the changes in home price trends and their impact on the market value of homes. Developed using data from the Multiple Listing Service System, the MLS® HPI is used to compare trends locally — for specific housing types and neighbourhoods — or across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and in most major cities in Canada. More importantly, it helps you approach one of life’s most important decisions – buying or selling a home – with greater confidence.

How Does the MLS® Housing Price Index Work?

The MLS® HPI can help you gauge changes in housing prices over time, including changes in: Overall home prices for the market as a whole. Prices for specific housing categories in a given area, or for the overall market. This information will help you to more accurately understand pricing trends in your local market area.

How is it Calculated?

The MLS® HPI concept is modeled after the Consumer Price Index, which measures the rate of price change for a basket of goods and services. A basket is the combination of goods and services that Canadians buy most such as food, clothing, transportation, etc. Instead of measuring goods and services, the MLS® HPI measures the rate at which housing prices change over time, taking into account the types of homes sold. The HPI uses a number of baskets representing benchmark homes. HPI identifies benchmark homes by using a set of quantitative and qualitative attributes that do not change over time, permitting apples-to-apples comparisons of price over time. These features together become the benchmark house, townhouse or apartment in a given area.

A benchmark property is designed to represent a typical residential property in a particular MLS® HPI housing market, such as Colwood, Oak Bay or Saanich. The MLS® HPI tracks changes in home prices by comparing price levels at a point in time with price levels in a base (reference) period. The base period value is always 100. For example, if the base period for single-family homes is 2005, and the MLS® HPI value for single-family homes in December 2011 is 149.1, you know that the value of single-family homes is up 49.1%, compared with 2005 (149.1 − 100 = 49.1%). While the HPI shows us the percentage change since 2005, the system also determines values for benchmark homes during the same period. The values produced by the system track the prices of benchmark homes over the same period of time.

How is the MLS® HPI different from average and median home price calculations?

The MLS® HPI is based on values assigned to various housing attributes, which tend to evolve gradually over time. This means that price changes calculated using the MLS® HPI are less volatile than those derived using common measures like average and median, which can swing dramatically in response to changes with high-end or low-end sales prices from month to month. It is often difficult to determine if average or median price fluctuations really reflect changes in buyers’ willingness to pay for certain housing attributes, or just changes in the volume of very expensive or inexpensive home sales from one time period to the next. The MLS® HPI removes that uncertainty.

Is the idea of a Home Price Index new to Canada?

A: An HPI is not new in Canada. The real estate boards of Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley have had an HPI in place since 1996, when they hired economists to build a local housing price index for the BC Lower Mainland. The HPI has been widely recognized as providing the most accurate indication of housing price trends in those markets. The MLS® HPI has been in use since January 2012. The Victoria and Vancouver Island Real Estate Boards are joining eight other boards to collaboratively use MLS® data to track trends in home prices in markets across Canada. We are 10 partners and growing!

How often is the MLS® HPI published?

A: The MLS® HPI is published at or near the beginning of each month to reflect activity that occurred during the previous month.

Hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, or if you would like to know the benchmark price for your neighbourhood send me an email or give me a call.

Oct 1, 2013 – Released by the Victoria Real Estate Board

VICTORIA BC – Finishing up the strongest third quarter since 2009, the Victoria Real Estate Board reports that properly priced homes are selling which, along with reduced inventory levels, contributed to favourable market conditions. Q3 sales totalled 1,610, a year-over-year increase of nearly 15 per cent.

On a monthly scale, total real estate sales in Greater Victoria were up 16 per cent in September 2013 over September 2012. A total of 487 properties sold last month, finishing off a strong third quarter. Residential sales increased by 15 per cent year-over-year, while active listings decreased by 9.5 per cent year-over-year to 4,547.

“Last year at this time, sales volumes were being undermined by the amortization changes,” says Shelley Mann, Board President. “This year is following a more historic pattern. Properly priced homes are selling and as a result consumers are responding.”

Mann adds that while sales increased over the last four months, prices remained flat. “We don’t expect any significant price increases in the near future,” she says. “Our provincial economist noted that while unit sales are recovering, the weak economy bears watching.”

There were 279 single family homes sold in September, an increase of 29 per cent over September 2012, while the median price of $523,900 is up just over one per cent year over year from $517,500. There were 105 condominium sales with a median price of $271,500 and 60 townhomes sold at a median price of $352,750.

Total Waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 19, up 1 over September 2012
Total Non-waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 260, up 62 over September 2012
Single Family Dwellings sold over $1 million: 12 (1 over $4 million)

Thank you for visiting my site. I’d love to hear from you!

Office: 1 (250) 384 8124

Cell: 1 (250) 857 6045

Email: Christina@ChristinaCarrick.ca

 

 

A couple of weeks ago the sales team at the 601 Herald had the chance to talk with Trevor Linden.  We got to find out on what compelled Trevor Linden himself to invest in a project like the 601 Herald St here in Victoria.

When Trevor said you’ll love living at the 601 Herald he wasn’t kidding. Being in the sales centre we see how much the current residents enjoy living in the building. From neighbourly BBQ’s to seeing residence saying hello to each other in near by coffee shops the 601 has definitely attracted some very lovely people!

Trevor also went into detail about how clean and modern the design of the suites are. We’re glad he highlighted it. The design of the lofts at the 601Herald embody everything you want to see in this type of space while retaining a warm and homey feeling. We just love the light colour of the brushed oak floors.

We’re also glad Trevor highlighted the Zen Garden. It is so important to have calm beautiful outdoor spaces especially when living in an urban centre.  Great to see a development providing meaningful contact with nature.

If you haven’t been to 601 Herald St yet it’s well worth a visit.  This building is an amazing place to live and the location makes it a solid investment.  The suites are fully rentable and pet friendly with low strata fees.

We’ll be open late for the Chinatown Night Market on Wednesday, July 18th, 5 pm to 9 pm so stop by to say hello and check out our fabulous display suites.


For more details on this listing check out full photos and floorplans here.

One of our passions (besides real estate of course) is getting involved in international charity. We’re always on the lookout for fun ways to help out. When we heard about an opportunity to raise $10,000 to build a school in Sierra Leone we were super excited, and wanted to share it with you! Here’s some background on the campaign.

1. We have been supporting an amazing group of kids and teachers in Sierra Leone (West Africa) over the past year and it’s been so cool to get involved and help out financially. Patricia and I have been contributing towards the operation of the school BUT what they really need is a school building.

2. Why raise money to build schools?? In terms of donating to international development, building a school has to be the BEST investment possible. If you are looking to see a return on your donation, and want your money to make a real and lasting change in a community, then education is the number one way to accomplish this. Nelson Mandela sums this up nicely – “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.“

3. Why Sierra Leone?? Remember the movie Blood Diamond with Matt Damon? Well, that was based in Sierra Leone. Although the war is over, the country remains one of the world’s poorest nations in the world.

4. Why CAUSE Canada?? My parents founded and have been running an organization called CAUSE Canada for the past 28 years. I know for a fact that the money we raise will go directly towards building a school in Sierra Leone. CAUSE is involved in tons of different projects throughout West Africa and Central America and are experts when it comes to efficient development work.

And here is the super exciting part – we’re building a school in Sierra Leone with 33 of our friends, families, and clients. We’ve organized it for that it’s a dollar amount that everyone can afford! Here’s a 2 min video explaining how 33 normal people can come together to achieve something extraordinary, and be the change the world needs! If you want to help out then jump on-board. Or if you have any questions send us a quick email.

http://pocketchangeheroes.com/christinaandpatricia/?page_id=708&narration=cause-narration

 

Victoria is a great city for real estate investors. We have one of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada, which means that rental properties are in high demand. Victoria is home to UVIC, Camosun, and a large Navy Base which means that there are many qualified renters in the market.

There are always fabulous deals to be found which can result in a positive cash flow for investors (especially in our current real estate market). If you’re thinking about starting a real estate rental portfolio I can send you my top 10 list of available condos on the market that yield great rental returns. In the meantime enjoy this video all about obtaining investment property financing.

Email me at Christina@ChristinaCarrick.ca

 

One issue of primary concern to all homeowners trying to sell their homes is, “How do I make sure my property is seen by the maximum number of people?” Of equal importance probablyshould be, “How do I make sure the maximum number of people who are motivated or likely to buy my home see my property?”

The answers to both questions lie with the real estate professionals you entrust to sell yourhome and the extensive network of listings they use to access properties throughout the Greater Victoria area. The real estate professionals are your REALTORS® and the network is called the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®). REALTORS® are experts, trained and licensed in the field of real estate, who help people buy and sell homes. All REALTORS® in the Victoria area are members of the Victoria Real Estate Board which operates the MLS® system.

What is MLS®? – The Multiple Listing Service® is best described as a co-operative marketing system to ensure maximum exposure of properties for sale. Fundamentally, it is a central registry of properties used by REALTORS® to match buyers with properties for sale. Most homes sold in Canada are sold via the MLS® systems operated by real estate boards across the country.MLS® is a sophisticated computer database of properties indexed by price, location, type ofhome, number of  bedrooms, amenities and so forth. All properties listed on the Victoria Real Estate Board’s MLS® system can be viewed on the Internet at www.mls.ca.

The Advantages For Consumers – The major benefit of MLS® to consumers is that it allows the REALTOR® to use his or her skills to full advantage. REALTORS® are experts in determining what a potential buyer wants in a home — and a large part of the REALTOR®’s job lies in finding properties that meet a buyer’s needs. Using the MLS®, a REALTOR® can search the database for homesthat suit budgets, location preferences and family requirements, and quickly put together a short list of suitable homes. This means that when it comes to view homes in earnest, buyers know exactly what homes they want to see, what their options are and what types of properties the market has to offer.What’s good for the buyer is also good for the seller.

The main obstacle for any seller is to find qualified, motivated buyers and the only way to overcome this is to match your home with the requirements of as many potential buyers as possible. The MLS® system cuts through the complexities, exposes your property to people most likely to purchase it and makes sure you won’t waste your time showing your home to those who are not truly interested.

So, when you have made the decision to sell, make sure you ask your REALTOR® about an MLS® listing. It could be that your REALTOR® will already know a number of potential buyers, but listing your home on MLS® will ensure wide exposure of your home to a broadrange of interested people.

The Victoria Real Estate Board has published the sales statistics for September.

Real estate sales activity softened throughout Greater Victoria last month with a total of 458 homes and other properties selling through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down from 542 sales in August. Sales last month were, however, 16 per cent higher than the 395 sales in September of last year. Prices, meantime, remained mixed depending on the property type.

Victoria Real Estate Board President, Dennis Fimrite, noted that the overall market remains stable despite some easing of sales in September. “There has been some softening in activity over the last year with sales so far this year running about 10 per cent below last year’s levels. However, sales during the last two months have been higher than in August and September of last year and we anticipate stable market conditions for the balance of this year.” Fimrite noted that despite economic uncertainty, interest rates remain very attractive and this is positive news for buyers. He added that that there were 17 single family home sales of over $1 million in September including one in Saanich East at over $6 million.

Fimrite added that the number of properties available for sale remained virtually unchanged last month with inventory levels currently 14 per cent higher than a year ago. “The number of properties available for sale declined very slightly last month to 4,940 compared to 4,944 at the end of August.”

The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $622,393, down from $652,841 in August. The median price also declined to $535,000 while the six-month average increased slightly to $622,519. The overall average price for condominiums last month was $332,490, down from $339,057 in August. The average for the last six months increased slightly to $331,209. The median price for condominiums in September also increased to $279,900. The average price of all townhomes sold last month showed little change at $436,039 compared to $437,079 in August. The median price declined to $391,000 while the six month average increased slightly to $447,127.

MLS® sales last month included 244 single family homes, 128 condominiums, 52 townhomes and 12 manufactured homes.