The Greater Victoria real estate market has softened in the month of August as a result of fewer sales & a decline in overall prices for single family homes and condominiums. However, the overall prices for townhomes rose in August.

A total of 425 properties sold in August via the Victoria Real Estate Board’s MLS, slightly down from the 527 sales in July. In comparison, there were 764 sales for the month of August in 2009. Softening of the sales this year was not unexpected, given that 2009 was an exceptional year. 

The outlook for the remainder of the year is that we anticipate the market to remain relatively stable; as any increase in interest rates in the near future will likely be modest.

The number of properties available for sale at the end of last month declined to 4,356 but this was still 24 per cent higher compared to the 3,509 available properties in August of last year.

The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $586,676 down from $615,004 in July. The median price declined to $548,500. The six-month average declined slightly to $629,272. There were eight single family home sales of over $1 million in August compared to 16 such sales the previous month. The overall average price for condominiums was $320,874 last month, down from $322,905 in July. The average for the last six months was $330,234. The median price for condominiums in August declined to $275,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month, however, rose to $432,284 from $420,578 in July. The median price rose to $405,000. The six month average was $439,636.

MLS® sales last month included 223 single family homes, 113 condominiums, 43 townhomes and 15 manufactured homes.