victoria ’ s inventory story Greater Victoria’s housing market distinguished itself from its peer markets with relatively strong sales activity in May and another wave of new listings. Though still a sellers’ market, supply-demand conditions are the loosest they’ve been in years.
With new homes coming to market at a near-record pace, active listings reached 2,678 at the end of May, the highest level since August 2015 (2,792 listings) and 28% above the prior 10-year May average of 2,094 listings (versus 19% in Vancouver and 37% in Kelowna). This translated to 3.5 months of inventory (MOI) and, although that signaled conditions in favour of sellers, these were by far the loosest conditions seen in the month of May in nearly a decade (excluding the pandemic year of 2020). For example, MOI was 2.2 in May 2023, 1.9 in 2022, and just 1.1 in 2021. May typically stands as the peak of the spring housing market, but challenging affordability and macroeconomic conditions made for varied results across BC’s three major markets. Though sales were still soft relative to historical levels, Victoria outperformed its peers by a considerable margin. On top of that, new listings and inventory growth far outpaced its peers, lifting the supply of homes from acute tightness in recent years and offering more options for buyers.
The Greater Victoria housing market distinguished itself from other primary markets in British Columbia in May, with relatively strong sales activity and a sustained expansion of new listings near their highest level in two decades. There were 762 MLS sales during the month, an 18% month-over-month increase that far outpaced the typical 7% increase between April and May. This was quite notable considering a smaller 5% month-over-month increase in Kelowna, and a 1.8% decline in Vancouver that spelled an early end to the spring housing market in that region. Looking beyond stronger month-to-month momentum, Victoria’s sales activity in May relative to historical levels also outperformed its peer markets. Sales were down just 0.9% year-over-year (versus 17% in both Vancouver and Kelowna) and were 10% below the prior 10-year May average (versus
20% in Vancouver and 26% in Kelowna). Despite considerable affordability headwinds challenging buyers across all major markets in BC, sales activity in Victoria was the most resilient by a wide margin. All of that said, the bigger story in May was a continued strong expansion in new listings. There were 1,674 new listings in May, the third most for a single month since January 2000 (that’s 293 months!). Only May 2008 and April 2010 saw more homes come to market at 1,745 and 1,681, respectively. This far outpaced other major BC markets at 24% above the prior 10-year May average versus 17% in Kelowna and 8% in Vancouver. Notably, new condo listings in Victoria were furthest above average in May at 46% versus 21% for townhomes and 14% for detached. The province’s new short-term rental restrictions came into effect on May 1st and, so far, they appear to be having an outsized impact on Victoria’s housing market.
Copyright © June 10, 2024 rennie group of companies. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the rennie group of companies. Current as of June 10, 2024. All data from the Victoria Real Estate Board & Rennie. While the information and data contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. rennie group of companies does not assume responsibility or liability for any inaccuracies. The recipient of the information shouldtakestepsastherecipientmaydeemnecessarytoverifytheinformationpriortoplacinganyrelianceupontheinformation.Theinformationcontainedwithinthisreportshouldnotbeusedasanopinionofvalue,suchopinionsshouldandcanbeobtainedfromarennieand associates advisor. All information is subject to change and any property may be withdrawn from the market at any time without notice or obligation to the recipient from rennie group of companies. E.&O.E. 3
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