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Greater Victoria housing market sees positive bump in June

Sales up by 76.8 per cent compared to May
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Greater Victoria has seen overall growth in the housing market, with a slight bump in single-family homes and a drop in condominium sales in June. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)

Sales in Greater Victoria’s real estate market have seen a sizable boost from May’s slump and are up by nearly 77 per cent.

A total of 808 properties were sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board’s region in June, up by 9.2 per cent compared to the same month last year and up 76.8 per cent compared to May.

Notably, condominium sales dropped by 3.2 per cent while single-family home sales rose by 16.8 per cent, compared to June 2019.

“If all we do is look at numbers, we see a fairly normal June, in the midst of a very not normal world,” says Sandi-Jo Ayers, Victoria Real Estate Board president.

READ MORE: Real estate sales in Greater Victoria drop almost 60 per cent in April

“The impact of COVID-19 on our entire economy continues. Because of the pandemic, an eviction order that prohibited a landlord from ending a tenancy was introduced. The order may have kept some homes from going to market. The portion of this order that prevented a seller from providing vacant possession of a tenanted home was lifted late this month, which may bring some listings to market that had been stalled.”

Ayers notes some demand may have been pushed forward, as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced a tightening of mortgage insurance rules, which came into effect on July 1. Those changes, she says, mostly affected the condo market.

“These are not normal days for local real estate, nor is this month a signal of a return to normal, regardless of the numbers.”

The benchmark value of a single-family home in the Victoria core increased slightly to $896,200, up from $885,400 or by 1.2 per cent compared to May.

ALSO READ: Greater Victoria home sales drop after pandemic declared


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aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com