The price of a house in the Comox Valley has risen 31 per cent from last year, meaning on average it will cost $241,490 more to purchase a single-family home in 2021.
In their latest market update, Vancouver Island Real Estate Board, which is an association of about 1,000 Realtors on Vancouver Island north of the Malahat, noted the theme running through the housing market is one of “different month, same issues.”
Three-hundred and ninety-eight single-family homes sold in October 2021, a 23 per cent decrease from one year ago. That trend continued with condo sales - a six per cent decrease compared to last year (122 sales) and a drop of 10 units in the townhouse category (88 sold compared to 98) from October 2020.
VIREB also noted active listings of single-family homes were 46 per cent lower last month than last year and dropped by 18 per cent from September.
Most notably, condo listings declined by 63 per cent from one year ago and 26 per cent lower than in September 2021.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association stated the supply situation is especially severe in markets outside the Lower Mainland, including Vancouver Island.
“Unless demand drops significantly or more inventory comes online through new construction, VIREB’s inventory situation likely won’t improve,” says Ian Mackay, 2021 VIREB president.
In the Comox Valley, the year-over-year benchmark price rose to $779,000 from 2020; the area that currently has the highest benchmark price is Parksville-Qualicum, which saw an increase from last year of 34 per cent to $887,300.
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