We are seeing an increase in the number of available properties for sale as we continue in a balanced market. This will open up great opportunities for buyers who will see more inventory, competitive pricing, and even have the possibility of Subject to Sale offers which have been tricky for some time.
In October 2023, a total of 407 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this October, 15.2 per cent fewer than the 480 properties sold in October 2022 and a 17.4 per cent decrease from September 2023. Sales of condominiums were down 7.2 per cent from October 2022 with 141 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 16.1 per cent from October 2022 with 193 sold. More information can be found in the Victoria Real Estate Board’s October 2023 Statistics Package .
There’s no denying that interest rates have a big factor on what is happening with the market. Inflation comes down to how consumers respond to changes in interest rates. Or in this case how they respond to not changing an interest rate. Consumers have developed a new pattern of being more frugal and comparison shopping over the last three months. This is why BOC is holding the rate. How consumers respond to the hold will dictate what the BOC will do next. When consumers hear “rate hold”, will they continue to comparison shop and be price conscious, or will they stop comparing prices and start to spend excessively? If they aren’t comparing prices, companies have no motivation to keep prices in check aka inflation. This is why many articles warn that they may raise rates again , to try and keep consumers focused on comparison shopping. We will see how consumers respond.