Category Archives: Economy

VICTORIA BC – The Victoria Real Estate Board reports a total of 394 sales were processed through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in February, an increase of 34% over the previous month. The highest activity was in single-family homes and condominiums. Compared to February 2012, sales were down by 18.26%. Shelley Mann, President of the  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA BC – A slow start to the year in Victoria’s real estate market is evidence that buyers are continuing to wait for prices to drop. Although January 2013 sales are 27% lower than January 2012, the six-month average price for a Greater Victoria home is only down 1% for the same period. “We are  Continue Reading »

By The statistics are clear: most Canadians are not preparing for retirement. According to a new poll by CIBC, more than half of Canadians surveyed said they did not feel adequately prepared for this later stage of their lives. When we at GoldenGirlFinance.com published an article about the importance of investing in Registered Retirement Savings  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA BC – Victoria’s real estate market ended 2012 with relatively flat pricing when compared to 2011, along with similar sales numbers for the third consecutive year. Total MLS® sales in December 2012 were 283, a 17% decrease over December 2011 when 339 units sold. A different picture is told, however, when comparing full years,  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA BC – While the number of single-family home sales has held relatively steady over the last three months, Greater Victoria REALTORS® are noting a year-over-year decrease that coincided with tighter mortgage regulations imposed in July of this year. Amortization periods were reduced to 25 years for high-ratio buyers – those with less than 20%  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA, BC—While prices held steady through most of the Greater Victoria region’s real estate market in October, government lending regulations have had the desired “cooling effect” on year-over-year sales numbers. Total MLS® sales for October 2012 were 373 compared to 483 in October 2011. During the month, 211 single family homes sold throughout the Victoria  Continue Reading »

The Bank of Canada once again opted to hold its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning. Interest rates have been held constant for over two years, the longest such period since the 1950s.The Bank somewhat tempered its bias for higher future interest rates, including a softer statement regarding the appropriateness  Continue Reading »

I attended the Annual Victoria Real Estate Board election meeting this week where Cameron Muir, Chief Economist of BC Real Association spoke. He had some strong, positive news to report and feels the media and news are exaggerating some of the declines these past few months and feels as we head into 2013 we will see  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA BC – REALTORS® across Vancouver Island are experiencing a “wait and see” attitude amongst buyers and sellers alike. The result? Prices remain steady but sales numbers are down in some categories. Total MLS® residential sales for September 2012 were 400 compared to 435 in September 2011. During the month, 216 single family homes sold  Continue Reading »

VICTORIA, BC— The August real estate market continues to be steady and flat, considered by the Victoria Real Estate Board to reflect the “wait and see” attitude its Member REALTORS® are hearing from the buying public. Total MLS® residential sales for August 2012 was 462 compared to 542 for the same period in 2011. During  Continue Reading »