March Madness

March is going to be touted by the VREB as another month of a stable and balanced real estate market in Greater Victoria. They will likely continue to compare stats month-to-month, as that spins them in their favour.

Of the stats I'm keeping, it looks like March will have approximately 290 SFH sales, with an average between $535k and $540k. The median will be around $515k. Month-over-month this looks impressive. What about year-over-year? Last March, there were 374 sales, with an average of $597k and a median of around $530k. Now this March doesn't look so impressive.

Sorry, I don't have any info regarding townhomes and condos.

Deal... or No Deal?

Due to the underwhelming success of the auction at Reflections in Langford, they have again lowered prices. This time, they are following the cues of Finlayson Reach and St. Andrew's Walk by chopping their prices by up to 40%. Good discount, but are they now good prices? What is the fair market value?

Some feel that fair market value is equal rent to ownership costs. I'll go with that. What would a 1 bedroom and den unit at Reflections rent for? Maybe $1100 / month? Strata fees and taxes for that unit would be maybe $250 / month. Subtract those from the rent = $850 / month mortgage payment. Today, you can get a 5 year fixed for 4.09%. With a 35 year amortization, you'd have a $180000 mortgage. Of course, you'd still need to cover a down payment and other associated fees (CMHC, property transfer tax, etc). The cheapest unit advertised is still $199000. That price is close, but still too high.

Bear Market at Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain is calling it a bear market and slashing prices at Finlayson Reach and St. Andrews Walk. This was mentioned over at Vibrant Victoria a couple days ago, just haven't had the time to post it yet. H/T to anonymous for mentioning it in the comments of the last post.

Also, H/T to anonymous regarding the auction at Reflections - Chek6 reported that 15 of the 40 units sold. So, 25 condos left. When's the no reserve auction?

Apparently, a local realtor sent out the following email recently. I thought it was good for a laugh.

"You may already know, but I wanted to ensure that you were aware of two significant developments that occurred last week in the Victoria Real Estate Market.

Firstly, Bank of Canada interest rates dropped by another half point followed by most Chartered Banks. Prime Rate now stands at 2.5% which is unprecedented in a generation.

Secondly, the Victoria Real Estate Board announced that the number of sales in the Greater Victoria Region had risen substantially during the month of January over the previous two months.

The reaction in the marketplace to these two events was immediate and dramatic. Buyers sensed that the market was turning and that prices would now begin to stabilize after months of decline and uncertainty. This combined with record low mortgage rates resulted in an amazing number of accepted offers over the weekend on listings that in many cases enjoyed multiple offers. It has been a while since this kind of market activity has been evident in the Greater Victoria Region.

It is a great time to buy and more and more people are recognizing the opportunities that are available."

P.S. Just saw the money printing video, thanks HHV for the link. These are scary times. Thanks Obama.