The benchmark price for a single-family home in Parksville Qualicum Beach has risen to $916,000.
According to stats released this month by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB), that number is up two per cent year-over-year from the same period a year ago. In PQB last month, the price was at $896,000. Five years ago, it was $565,000.
Elsewhere, Nanaimo’s year-over-year benchmark price rose by two per cent to reach $819,900. In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home was $691,700 last month, up one per cent from the previous year. The Comox Valley’s year-over-year price rose by three per cent to $832,800. In the Cowichan Valley, the benchmark price was $782,800, a one per cent decrease from August 2023.The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni was $519,900, up two per cent from the previous year. For the North Island, the benchmark price of a single-family home rose by three per cent to $441,700.
According to a news release, VIREB recorded 662 unit sales board-wide and 4,520 active listings (all property types) on the MLS® System in August 2024. In the single-family category (excluding acreage and waterfront), 333 homes sold in August, up three per cent from one year ago and down eight per cent from July. Sales of condo apartments last month came in at 70, decreasing by 18 per cent year over year and 20 per cent from July. In the row/townhouse category, 69 units changed hands in August, down eight per cent from one year ago and 30 per cent from July.
The board-wide benchmark price of a single-family home was $785,400 in August 2024, up two per cent from one year ago and a slight uptick from July. In the apartment category, the benchmark price was $403,400 last month, down one per cent from the previous August and three per cent from July. The benchmark price of a townhouse in August was $544,100, down one per cent from one year ago and up one per cent from July.
VIREB CEO Jason Yochim said in the release that the housing market was flat during spring and summer, but REALTORS® are optimistic about the fall market.
“Active listings are at their highest level in nearly five years,” says Yochim. “Combined with recent rate cuts, an anticipated rate cut, and pricing that’s responsive to the current market, it’s an excellent time for buyers to make a move.”
