10 February 2008
January: Fewer Sales, but Higher Prices on Vancouver Island Real Estate
Posted by Ryan Coffey under: Buying; Nanaimo Real Estate Market; Uncategorized .
Here’s something worth reading from the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB). Apparently, sales went down 19% in volume compared to January last year (which was another record year) but the prices are still increasing, they went up 17%.
It’ll be interesting to see if this January slowdown translates into something bigger or if it’s a blip on the screen, but really, no one knows for sure. (And anyone who tells you they do is someone I would advise not listening too closely to.) But like I always say, if you need a home you need a home, picking apart the market patterns is more for investors and to a lesser extent, people who are thinking of downsizing. In the long term, real estate prices always go up, it’s in the short term that they fluctuate.
The spring market is starting to stir though as people who are intending to buy this year are beginning to look into buying and selling and get ready for the big search, buy and move. I’m getting quite a few inquiries already for both buyers and sellers, but I’m just one Realtor, not the whole market.
Hope my writing is as clear as usual. I still have a bit of jet lag after coming back from my trip to Japan. 
Here’s the release from VIREB of which I speak.
Ryan
