The strong start to the year has continued and momentum has continued to build in what is anticipated to be the strongest spring real estate market Nanaimo has experienced in recent memory.

126 single family homes sold in February, which represented a volume increase of 100% over January and an increase of 45% when compared to the number of homes sold in February 2015. The average sale price in February of $414,828 was up 13% over last February’s average of $366,236. It is important to note also that the median price was up nearly 12%, suggesting that the increasing average is not just the result of a few higher priced sales skewing the numbers. Other factors that we look at when analyzing a market to validate the strength of the trend are the sell/list ratio, sell price/list price, days to sell and current inventory numbers, among others. Year-over-year, the sell/list ratio increased by 47% to 72%, while the sell price/list price ticked up one point to 98%.  The average number of days on the market did increase slightly compared to February 2015, however this is likely a result of a number of listings that had been sitting stagnant on the market throughout much of the winter finally moving, as attractive new listings are increasingly seeing accepted offers within a few days. The number of active listings is down significantly, having decreased from 382 in February 2015 to 289 last month. With increasing demand from buyers, this limited inventory is resulting in increasing competition for newly listed properties, adding to the upward pressure on prices. Taking all of these factors into consideration, there is no doubt that short-term we are in a strong, uptrending market. With limited inventory, now is a great time for homeowners thinking about selling their property to list to capitalize on the pent up demand before the traditional flood of homes hit the market later this spring.

With most areas showing strength in price appreciation, the standouts included North Nanaimo, Hammond Bay, South Nanaimo, both North and South Jingle Pot, Central Nanaimo, and Upper Lantzville.

Lots, Single family homes, and townhomes strongest gainers in year-over-year price appreciation by category. Apartment style condos and waterfront homes were down, however in the case of waterfront you shouldn’t read too far into this as there were only 4 sales last month and these may have just been at lower price points.

In recapping the market, we recognize that it is important to not only report the statistics, but to provide some commentary in terms of what these figures mean for you as a potential buyer or seller of real estate. In doing so, we go beyond the headlines and drill down to uncover hidden information that would be relevant to the decision making process. Here are a few unreported facts and figures from February:

• 104 properties sold within a month of being listed. Of these, 64 properties sold within a week with an average sell price to list price of 100%. For the remaining 41 that sold beyond a week, the average sell price to list price was 98%. Beyond a month, the average sell price to list price was 96.5%.
• 60 properties sold at or above the asking price.
• Of the properties that sold at or above the asking price, the average premium over the asking price was 2.6% and the largest premium was 15.6%.

If you have any questions about market conditions or would like more details specific to your neighbourhood, please contact us at info@jahelkagroup.com and we would be happy to help.

Check out the Nanaimo Market Statistics Here: February 2016 Stats

Source: VIREB