Increased real estate sales and decreased prices

Real estate sales were up and prices came down across Vancouver Island last year.

But expect a leveling as listed properties remain scarce and put upward pressures on prices, says the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board, which comprises more than 1,000 Realtors in 85 offices and six zones covering the area north of Victoria.

The average price of a home in the board's area last year was $330,500 — down five per cent from 2008. Average prices fell by as much as 11 per cent in Campbell River to $280,500, nine per cent in Port Alberni to $217,800 and eight per cent in the Cowichan Valley to $352,800.

There were 4,524 sales during 2009, an increase of 12 per cent.

Listings withered from 9,450 in 2008 to 8,188 last year as the recession had people holding off selling their homes until the economic landscape improved.

Island house sales, meanwhile, bucked the trend by staying relatively buoyant in December, a month when buyers usually take a holiday. The average selling price rose in four of six Island markets last month, a first since the market meltdown of October 2008.

December saw a pace of sales about double the same period a year ago — 300 sales compared to 136 in the same month a year ago — and an increased average selling price in two-thirds of communities tracked using annual sales summary data collected through the real estate industry's proprietary Multiple Listing Service.

Cliff Moberg, the board's incoming president, said the majority of new buyers "seem to be end users, rather than speculators, which is a positive sign for sustainable growth."

Nanaimo Realtor Jim Stewart sees strong growth in the Island market for 2010. "The local economy is solid and real estate continues to be a good investment," he said.

About a third of the homes sold last year in the board's territory were in Nanaimo, where 1,326 sales brought an average price of $351,000 and a median of $337,500. That was 154 more units than last year and an average price that slipped four cent.

(Source: Victoria Times Colonist)