Victoria experienced record sales to start 2016, with the highest sales in the month of January since 2002. Demand is high and supply is lower, with people from Vancouver and across Canada looking to move to Victoria we have seen prices and sales increase rapidly in the Victoria Core. Multiple offers and homes selling for more than the asking price is very common. We ended last month with only 2,618 active listings on the Victoria Real Estate Board MLS, that's 30.5% fewer than the same month last year when we had 3,769 active listings. There were also 1,121 properties sold in March of this year, which was 52.7% more than in March of last year when 734 properties sold.
In February the BC Government announced the 2016 Budget for our province, which included several changes to the Property Transfer Tax Act. These changes will affect the property transfer tax Buyers pay when they are looking to purchase a new home or homes above $2,000,000. There is now a full property transfer tax exemption when purchasing a newly built condo, townhouse or single family home below $750,000, and a partial exemption applies when purchasing a newly built home under $800,000. Property transfer tax is calculated as 1% of the purchase price up to $200,000, then 2% on the balance of the purchase price, however now any portion of the purchase price over $2,000,000 will have a 3% property transfer tax.
The Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in March of 2015 was $569,700. The benchmark value for that same home in March of 2016 was $663,300, increasing by 16.4%. The graph below shows the change in the Home Price Index from March 2015 to March 2016 for all single family homes, 1 storey single family homes, 2 storey single family homes, townhouses and condos.
It was an exciting start to 2016 as I changed my name professionally from Mikaila Almond to my married name of...
I have also relaunched my website which is now easier to navigate and optimized to help you with your home search in Victoria...
I wanted to share with you my new app that helps you find trusted home service providers and local businesses. The app is free to download for iOS and Android - You can download it by visiting the link below, or search 'Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty' in your app store. Make sure to select Mikaila Rhodes as your preferred agent!