July 2022 Duncan BC Real Estate Review

By David Lowes, Duncan Realtor

August 1, 2022 – We have had more single family home listings (129) and fewer sales (55) in July which is allowing our inventory of single family houses to build throughout the Cowichan Valley – in comparison we had 67 houses sell and 153 list in June.

Real Estate Inventory Duncan & Cowichan valley

At the end of July, our real estate inventory for single-family dwellings increased to 231 active homes – which is much higher than 117 in April, 157 in May and 210 in June– still a seller’s market, but sellers will need to be more realistic with expectations in this changing market with this increased inventory and buyers losing buying power with increasing interest rates. Pricing homes accurately to not ‘chase the market’ will continue to be important.

Our average sale price for a single-family dwelling in the Cowichan Valley in July was $829,000 which is a significant drop from May which was $911,291 but up a bit from June’s average of $804,000.

Real Estate Inventory 2022

Homes are no longer selling over list price – a more reasonable 97.1% of list price in July, down from 98.98% in June.

We are seeing few multiple offers and the ultra-high offers look to be a thing of the past.

Most home sellers are choosing to no longer ‘hold for offers’ instead deal with the first offer they receive.

The average amount of time a single-family dwelling sits on the market is 31 days – that is up from May’s 19 days, and June’s 23 days on market.

Please contact our team with any real estate-related questions; we’re always happy to help.

MEDIA RELEASE – August 2, 2022

JULY BRINGS MORE OPTIONS FOR BUYERS

NANAIMO, BC – Due to a significant increase in inventory, July brought more options for buyers in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area.

Last month, active listings of single-family homes (not acreage or waterfront) climbed by 142 per cent from July 2021 and 15 per cent from June 2022, reaching 1,387. VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments hit 336 in July, 91 per cent higher than one year ago and up by 14 per cent from June. There were 267 row/townhouses for sale in July, a 107 per cent year-over-year increase and up by 20 per cent from June.

The additional inventory gives buyers more choices and mitigates the need to move too quickly when making an offer. Kelly O’Dwyer, 2022 VIREB President-Elect, notes that while sales have slowed, the tempo is more reminiscent of a typical summer market, but one the board has not seen in several years.

“While higher interest rates are certainly impacting the market, some buyers are postponing their home purchase and planning to revisit the process in the fall,” says O’Dwyer. “The pandemic threw a wrench into the real estate market, but what we’re experiencing now feels more like a typical summer.”

O’Dwyer also notes that REALTORS® are seeing price reductions on higher-priced properties, and multiple offers have decreased. Sellers may have to adjust their price expectations now that the market has shifted, although it is too early to say how long these conditions will persist.

By category, there were 297 single-family-home sales in July, a 34 per cent decrease from one year ago and down by 27 per cent from June. There were 75 condo apartment sales last month, a decline of 37 per cent year over year and down by nine per cent from June. In the row/townhouse category, 51 units changed hands in July, down 49 per cent from one year ago and 25 per cent from June 2022.

Notwithstanding higher inventory and lower sales, prices continue to rise throughout the VIREB area. The board-wide benchmark price of a single-family home reached $856,700 in July, up 22 per cent from one year ago. In the apartment category, the benchmark price hit $450,200 last month, a 26 per cent increase from July 2021. The benchmark price of a townhouse increased by 23 per cent, climbing to $624,700 in June. However, the benchmark price for the overall board area dipped by one per cent from June to July.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $755,800 in July, up by 21 per cent from the previous year. In the Comox Valley, the year-over-year benchmark price rose by 21 per cent to $914,100. The Cowichan Valley reported a benchmark price of $879,300, an increase of 24 per cent from July 2021. Nanaimo’s benchmark price rose by 21 per cent, reaching $883,400, while the Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price increase by 20 per cent to $982,000. The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni reached $611,800, up 27 per cent from the previous year. For the North Island, the benchmark price of a single-family home rose by 29 per cent to $478,300. Excluding the Comox Valley and North Island, all zones in the VIREB area saw small month-over-month price reductions from June to July.

If consumers are struggling with timing around whether to buy or sell in the current market, the advice of a local REALTOR® can be beneficial. REALTORS® have specialized knowledge of their communities and are equipped with sales tools, such as custom analytics, to help you develop a winning strategy for buying or selling your home.

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 board-supplied 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®).

HPI Note: Areas with insufficient data do not generate statistics and are not included in the HPI graphs.

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About David Lowes

David has been a Duncan REALTOR® serving clients throughout the Cowichan Valley at RE/MAX Island Properties (formerly RE/MAX of Duncan) for over 10 years.

He loves helping people find the home of their dreams, and working with his sellers to get the best possible price and terms for their house sale.

If you have any questions, please call him on 250-748-7200.