Nanaimo, BC
Sales of single-family homes in March board-wide dipped by 23 per cent year over last year.
Last month, 309 single-family homes sold on the Multiple Listing Service® System compared to 399 in March 2018. In the apartment and townhouse categories, sales dropped by 10 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
The negative shock to affordability and purchasing power created by the stress test is expected to continue preventing many buyers from entering the housing market. In the VIREB area, the stress test is helping reduce demand for higher-priced properties and pushing buyers towards less expensive homes. In turn, this is compressing the lower end of the market. However, despite decreased demand, prices in the VIREB area continue to rise over last year, although increases are expected to soften in the coming months.
The benchmark price of a single-family home board-wide was $510,800 in March, a six percent increase from one year ago. (Benchmark pricing tracks the value of a typical home in the reported area.) In the apartment category, the benchmark price climbed to $319,800 from one year ago, an eight percent increase. The benchmark price of a townhouse hit $414,700 last month, up 8 percent over March 2018. Nanaimo’s benchmark price of a single family home rose four percent to $554,300.
Trend-wise, VIREB’s housing market has transitioned from one favouring sellers to one that is balanced or near balanced. Balanced markets offer buyers more choice and more room to negotiate, while sellers will need to curb their expectations.
“Seller optimism regarding the value of their home is contributing to a sharp disconnect between buyers and sellers,” says Kaye Broens, 2019 VIREB President.
“We’re seeing many sellers who want to list their homes at 2016 and 2017 prices, expecting to get the same amount of money their neighbour did two years ago. Unfortunately, that just isn’t realistic.”