Victoria was ranked the fourth best place in British Columbia for real estate investment, according to a new report from the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN).
Victoria is the only Vancouver Island city mentioned in the top-10 list, with the top three spots going to Surrey, Abbotsford, and New Westminster.
“Victoria is slowly and quietly, becoming a technology and entrepreneurial hub. Layer on the city’s place as a major tourism destination, the number of post-secondary institutions in the region, ocean and marine sectors, as well as health care, and you discover that Victoria’s economy is robust, diverse, and well poised for the future,” the report said.
The city’s benchmark residential price recently hit $823,100, a yearly increase of 10.9%.
“Looking at the longer view, prices have trended steadily upward since 2013. Victoria’s economic fundamental key drivers, such as GDP, employment and population growth, suggest it will continue to rise despite this very high benchmark price and increase. A move towards densification with condominium projects will help to temper the average price.”
House sales appear to have hit a peak, and are finally heading back to long-term averages. According to the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB), the current market is different when compared to 2016’s record-breaking numbers. While sales are softer year-over-year, sales in September exceeded the 10-year average by more than 10%, indicating that Victoria is in an active market with the availability of appropriate product.
“Listings hit their lowest point recently and are just beginning to rise, in alignment with a market coming into a boom phase of the real estate cycle,” the report said. “It is also important to note that the average residential listing stays on the market for only 22 days and should decrease as the market rises.”
According to REIN’s Real Estate Cycle Scorecard Clock, the city’s real estate market is in the “middle to end of recovery.”
