Oak Bay Real Estate 2020 Real Estate Update – Victoria
After an astonishing year for the entire Victoria Real Estate Market amidst a global pandemic, it is hard to look back at the data and not be impressed. To say the market ‘got back into the swing of things after the original pause in March and April is an understatement. This is especially true for one of Victoria’s most desirable neighbourhoods, Oak Bay.
To put things into perspective, specifically looking at single-family homes, the 2019 average sale price in Oak Bay was $1,469,636. That number was then put to shame in 2020 when the average rose a little over 16% to $1,707,091. Correspondingly so, the number of sales in Oak Bay increased 44% from the previous year of 2019 to 282 transactions. Speaking of transactions, the luxury market has been right on pace with these trends. In 2020 there were 74 sales over $2,000,000 which is an astonishing number especially in contrast to 2019’s 33 sales, a 124% difference.
That being said, a large part of the spike in the luxury market has to do with out-of-town buyers. The third quarter of 2020 recorded 25% of buyers being from out of town, which is the highest it’s been since 2016. This is Largely due to the draw of Vancouver Island and the early success of handling the pandemic.
In lieu of high demand, homeowners were getting more of their asking price than they have in recent years. 2020 had a 0.5% increase in the selling price/list price ratio. High demand and lower than usual inventory, in turn, lead to multiple offer situations, some resulting in bidding wars that had homes selling hundreds of thousands over the asking price.
Homes were not only selling high but they were selling fast, 13% faster actually. The average time it took to sell a home in Oak Bay cut down to only 23 days, some multi-million dollar properties sold hours after they were listed. The record-setting demand and the abnormally low inventory certainly played a large role in the 16% increase in sale price. Equally as important is the historically low mortgage rates prompting Canadians to get into the market and buy or move up. Recently we’ve seen rates as low as a 5-year 0.99% mortgage rate (variable, HSBC).
If you are thinking about selling your Oak Bay home, you are in a strong position as a seller. Feel free to connect with us for a complimentary evaluation and marketing strategy for your home.
