By Gordon McKinlay
PropertyGuys.com Comox Valley & North Vancouver Island

Comox Valley Market Update – December 2019

The monthly Comox Valley Market Update for December 2019 shows, “Trend-wise, VIREB’s housing market is balanced in most areas and inching towards a buyers’ market in a few zones. Overall, however, home sales and listing activity are at typical levels for our region…there is interest among buyers, but many are taking a wait-and-see approach. Lack of inventory is certainly curtailing some buyers from moving ahead with their home purchase, so if you’re thinking of selling your home, now is a good time to list,” says Kaye Broens, 2019 VIREB President.

For the 2019 Comox Valley average single-family home prices, the average home sale price hovered around $600K until May where it dipped slightly and peaked again in November. The average home price for the entire year was $579,567, which was 7% higher than 2018 at $540,105.

Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board – MLS® Statistics 

	The Average Sale Price this year ↑ increased by 7% ↑ from last year. This year’s Average Sale Price was $579,567. There are 4.66 Months of Inventory of Single Family in the Comox Valley. It is currently a Balanced Market. This month’s Inventory decreased to 177 Active Listings. There were 35 units listed and 38 units sold. PLEASE NOTE: SINGLE FAMILY property does NOT INCLUDE acreage with a house, condominiums, duplex/triplex, mobile homes/on a pad, single-family waterfront or single-family strata. LOTS do NOT INCLUDE acreage or waterfront acreage.
	The Average Sale Price this year ↓ decreased by 8% ↓ from last year. This year’s Average Sale Price was $227,282. There are 35 Months of Inventory of Lots in the Comox Valley. It is currently a Strong Buyers Market. This month’s Inventory decreased to 35 Active Listings. There were 0 units listed and 1 units sold.
	The Average Sale Price this year ↑ increased by 6% ↑ from last year. This year’s Average Sale Price was $296,172. There are 3.58 Months of Inventory of Condos (Apt) in the Comox Valley. It is currently a Soft Sellers Market. This month’s Inventory decreased to 68 Active Listings. There were 9 units listed and 19 units sold.
	The Average Sale Price this year ↑ increased by 12% ↑ from last year. This year’s Average Sale Price was $441,341. There are 5 Months of Inventory of Condos (Patio) in the Comox Valley. It is currently a Balanced Market. This month’s Inventory increased to 15 Active Listings. There were 5 units listed and 3 units sold.
	The Average Sale Price this year ↑ increased by 3% ↑ from last year. This year’s Average Sale Price was $361,335. There are 7 Months of Inventory of Condos (Twnhse) in the Comox Valley. It is currently a Avg. Buyers Market. This month’s Inventory increased to 14 Active Listings. There were 3 units listed and 2 units sold.

Market Legend

• Seller’s Market – In a seller’s market, conditions are favorable for sellers to get higher prices for their homes. The number of buyers who want homes exceeds the number of homes available. In this type of market, the homes sell quickly, prices will increase, and a large number of buyers are available for a minimal inventory of homes. These characteristics have implications for the buyer who has to make decisions quickly, must pay more, and frequently has their conditional offers rejected.
• Balanced Market – In a balanced market, the number of homes on the market is equal to the demand or number of buyers. Houses sell within a reasonable period, the demand equals supply, sellers accept reasonable offers, and prices are generally stable. The implications for the buyer in this type of market are that the atmosphere is more relaxed. There is a reasonable number of homes from which to choose.
• Buyer’s Market – A buyer’s market allows buyers to come in at lower prices. The supply of homes on the market exceeds the demand or the number of buyers. Homes will be on the market longer, fewer buyers will be available compared to the higher inventory of homes, and house prices are reduced. The implications for the buyers in this type of market are more favorable, negotiating leverage, more time to search for a home, and better prices.

Meet Gord

Gord is the owner of PropertyGuys.com in the Comox Valley & North Vancouver Island. Gordon is a private sales expert who loves helping people sell their own homes and save tens of thousands of dollars. He has created this article to help others sell their homes privately. For more information, download his free Guide to Selling Without an Agent.

PropertyGuys.com has developed a system that has helped over 90,000 private home sellers in Canada to sell their homes successfully. PropertyGuys.com is the largest private home sales network in Canada.