Spring Sales Start Early in the Victoria BC Real Estate Market

VICTORIA, BC--(Marketwired - March 02, 2015) - The Victoria Real Estate Board today released its report on real estate activity in the Victoria area for February 2015.

542 properties sold in the Victoria region this February, a 31.6% increase compared to the 412 properties sold in the same month last year and a 54.4% increase compared to the 351 properties sold last month in January.

"The trees bloomed early in Victoria, and so did local real estate. February was a busy month with numbers closer to what we would expect to see in the spring season," Victoria Real Estate Board President Guy Crozier says. "285 single family homes sold over the course of the month. We've not seen that many single family homes sell in a February since 2008 when we tracked 295 transactions. Though buyers are already in spring purchase mode, the amount of available inventory may not be quite up to the pace. We continue to track the trend of higher year-over-year sales, and lower year-over-year active listings that we started to see in mid-2013."

There were 3,480 active listings for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® at the end of February, 7.7% fewer than the 3,770 active listings in February 2014.

The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core this time last year was $549,700. The benchmark value for the same home this month has increased by 1.33% to $557,000.

"The Board certainly anticipated an increase in sales for spring, but the increase we've seen exceeded my expectations," President Crozier adds. "The early spring combined with available low interest rates will likely create more demand for Victoria real estate as the rest of Canada digs out from winter."

Victoria Real Estate Board President Guy Crozier is available for comment. More information on the February 2015 report and the Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index is available from the Victoria Real Estate Board, www.vreb.org.

About VREB - Founded in 1921, the Victoria Real Estate Board is a key player in the development of standards and innovative programs to enhance the professionalism of REALTORS®. The Victoria Real Estate Board represents approximately 1,200 local REALTORS®.

Attachment Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/3/2/11G034633/Victoria_Real_Estate_Board_market_statistics_for_F-1111331071668.pdf