Spring fever has arrived in Victoria’s real estate market, with both inventory and sales numbers up last month from January.
“We saw glimmers of a start to the spring market over the course of February,” Victoria Real Estate Board chair Laurie Lidstone said Friday.
Inventory was also up from the same time in 2023.
The number of properties for sale through the board’s multiple listing service climbed by more than 500 from the same period last year, she said, adding: “This much-needed inventory gives buyers more selection and more time to make their purchasing decisions.”
Prices have continued to remain stable, she said, “which is excellent for buyers and sellers because it makes the transaction much more predictable.”
February saw 470 properties change hands, up 37.8 per cent from January, when 341 sales took place, and slightly up from the 460 properties sold in February of last year.
The number of properties available to buy climbed to 2,364 last month,up from 2,140 properties in January. It also represented a 30.7 per cent increase in inventory from February 2023.
Townhome listings rose in February, said Lidstone, who said that form of housing is “under-supplied” in Greater Victoria.
The benchmark value for a single-family house in the Victoria core was $1.247 million, down marginally from the same month last year, when it was $1.251 million.
There was a slight increase in the benchmark value for a condominium in the core — it was $557,000 last month, up from $549,300 in February 2023.
