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It might not feel like spring, but the Greater Victoria real estate market is sure acting like it, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Victoria Real Estate Board.

The region recorded 795 property sales last month, and while that is 195 fewer than October of this year, it is close to the record for the month of November, which was 892 sales recorded in 1989.

Real estate sales in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board area stretching from Duncan to Port Hardy nearly doubled in October compared with the same period last year.

There was a slight decline in the region month over month, but officials say it was due to lack of available homes for sale.

“Demand in the VIREB area continues to be high, but there just aren’t enough homes to satisfy it,” said president Kevin Reid.
Active listings of single-family detached properties (excluding acreage and waterfront) stood at 733 in October compared with 909 in September. There were 333 condo apartments and 197 row/townhouses for sale last month, down 14% and 3%, respectively, month over month.

Not even a global pandemic can keep the province’s real estate industry down!

The British Columbia Real Estate Association’s latest report, The Unusual World of Pandemic Economics, seems to contradict its title. Or maybe that’s the point.

In any case, the hammering that many parts of the economy have seen thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been felt by the province’s real estate industry, at least according to the BCREA.

“Looking at recent data in the housing market, it would be difficult to tell there was a recession at all,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a release. “In a typical recession, we would see falling demand and rising supply, but this recession is anything but typical.”

The report points to uneven job losses across sectors, an increase in many households’ rate of savings, swift government aid, a tighter-than-ever housing supply and low interest rates as the drivers behind B.C.’s recent housing market highs.

Notably, high-income households have been much less affected by the crisis than middle- or lower income families. Household savings and disposable income have also increased, with the latter jumping 11 percent from the first quarter of 2020 to the second, according to the report.

With people not as keen to show their homes or move during the pandemic, supply has shrunk, too, creating some pent-up demand.

The BCREA’s current prediction for 2020 MLS sales is in the 80,000 range, which would beat 2019’s tally of 77,331. The group is also predicting a massive bump for next year.

“We expect home sales will sustain this momentum into 2021, aided by record-low mortgage rates and a recovering economy,” noted Ogmundson.