Category Archives: Economy

VICTORIA BC – Victoria’s real estate market ended 2013 with some momentum after a weak first quarter. Total MLS® sales in December 2013 were 355, a 25% increase over December 2012 when 283 units sold. Annually, total units sold increased by 4%, with 5,998 in 2013 compared to 5,747 in 2012. The overall MLS® HPI  Continue Reading »

Victoria’s residential housing market marked a notable turnaround in 2013. Sales gained traction throughout the year, with a solid rally evident over the summer months. The upswing in momentum should see transactions surpass 2012 levels, as 5,800 homes change hands in the city by year end. Inventory has receded and conditions have largely stabilized, with  Continue Reading »

Greater Victoria real estate sales moderated in November following a brisk June-to-October market. According to the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) MLS® System, 412 properties sold compared to 366 in November 2012, an increase of 12.6 per cent. “We saw market activity slow down after a very busy five months,” says Shelley Mann, VREB President. “While sales  Continue Reading »

The Canadian economy grew 2.7 per cent at an annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace of growth in almost two years.  The economy was given a boost by an uptick in business investment which helped to offset a slight deceleration in household spending and a dip in exports. Moreover, while third quarter  Continue Reading »

Canadian existing home sales fell 3.2 per cent month-over-month in October according to a report published on Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). While this marked the first drop in resales since February 2013 and the largest monthly decline since the slowdown in summer 2012, sales still stood 8.3 per cent above 2012  Continue Reading »

Greater Victoria continued to experience strong home sales during the month of October, reports the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB). According to the Board’s MLS® System, 512 properties sold compared to 373 in October 2012, an increase of 37.27 per cent. There were 4,322 active listings. “While we are all very pleased with the October  Continue Reading »

National residential property sales in Canada have improved more quickly than anticipated and as a result the Canadian Real Estate Association has updated its forecasts for 2013. Sales are forecast to reach 449,900 units in 2013 and the national average home price is projected to rise by 3.6% to $376,300 in 2013. The sales forecast  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA, BC–Finishing up the strongest third quarter since 2009, the Victoria Real Estate Board reports that properly priced homes are selling which, along with reduced inventory levels, contributed to favourable market conditions. Q3 sales totalled 1,610, a year-over-year increase of nearly 15 per cent. On a monthly scale, total real estate sales in Greater Victoria  Continue Reading »

Summer-time real estate sales numbers were the best they’ve been in Greater Victoria in five years. There was a total of 1,787 sales in June, July and August. On a monthly scale, total real estate sales in Greater Victoria were up 16.8 per cent in August 2013 over August 2012, the Victoria Real Estate Board  Continue Reading »

A REALTOR® once told me, “If you ever want to lose somebody at hello, just say ‘statistics.’” Maybe the same can be said for “economics” – but tuning out fundamental economic concepts like supply and demand turns a blind eye to forces that shape the price of everything. Most people pay attention to the bottom  Continue Reading »