cheaprealty net

Homes over $1 million are now taking multiple offers and selling well over asking.

I don't get it. Who are these people?

Ha ha, you're joking, right?

This is what my RE agent told me - as if? I know 3 houses that went over asking - one $150,000. He also said people are only taking cash offers and won't wait for the sale of "your" house. He say the market is HOT HOT HOT!!!!!

I did decide to loose my agent.

Before Christmas anything over $1 million was just sitting or selling under asking. I don't understand what is going on. I am sick of all of this. I have been told Victoria has its own micro economy (I thought it was government and tourism) - Construction.

I laughed when I heard that and thought it was pretty stupid. Also the argument - we can't be affected because we are an island.

I still wonder why is there still a market for expensive homes? The Americans stopped coming. Albertans apparently stopped coming. Victoria has been voted one of the most unaffordable cities in the world?

Why are the over-priced high end homes still selling (some of them are pretty crappy to boot).

I am discouraged. I would love to hear your comments.

With the price adjustments (down, up, down, up, etc) on some properties I can see some selling from more than the last price reduction, but is that really for more than the asking price ? As the asking price was higher previously ?

I like numbers, but ALL the numbers are needed to make generalized statements, and I doubt that the average Realtor has those.

You said "He also said people are only taking cash offers and won't wait for the sale of "your" house. He say the market is HOT HOT HOT!!!!!"

What he meant was that people will not take "conditional offers" subject to the sale of your home. This has been the case in Victoria for years. In a sellers market nobody wants to delay selling their house while you sell yours. In a balanced market some wil take this condition if they have been on the market for a while. In a falling market many folks would rather take an unconditional lowball and get out quick then watch the market fall while they wait for someone else to sell their house. In summary if you really want to move up you need to put your house up for sale and get an unconditional offer before making an offer on your next home. Putting yours up for sale after making an unconditional offer on your next house is a surefired way to get lowballed.

Regarding the "hot, hot, hot" comment this is rubbish. January is a tirekicking month and is second only to December in terms of low sales. Your agent is probably getting tired of showing you properties (time is money) and he is trying to pressure you into making a decision. I have PCS setup for Fairfield and Oak Bay under a million and it is anything bit hot right now.

Roger,

I always enjoy talking to you.

One of the biggest problems here for families - and I know many that are in this situation, is that we have different needs than a young couple with a baby.

We are in our mid-40s. Have built up equity through investments, real estate, inheritences. Want good neighborhoods for our kids and good schools. Moved from a nice house in Toronto. 3,800 sq. ft. Living room/dining room/family room/3 bathrooms/4 bedrooms/basement. Nice but nothing to write home about.

Looking for the same here is impossible. The homes that I have seen for $800,000 and $900,000 are in such need of renovations it is crazy - I am talking Cordova Bay, Cadboro Bay, Uplands (forget it) Fairfield (nice house but no back yard). Gordon Head - nothing. Broadmeaad, Beaver Lake needed total reno (sold for $900,000 by the way - 2 offers - needed at least $300,000 worth of work). Lots in Henderson are going for $800,000. Many homes in Brentwood, Elk Lake are over $1 million. Do a search you will be surprised.

I don't want to spend a million dollars on a house. I don't like big mortgages. One house in Wedgepoint sold for $600,000 8 years ago. It is now on the market for $2 million. It was a nice boring family home. $2 million ???? Another house we looked at 4 years ago in University Heights was for sale at $800,000 it was bright pink on the inside and pink on the outside but a good family home. Nice yard, safe neighborhood etc. It just sold for $1.4 million - and it is still pink. See what I am getting at.

In any other city in Canada (except Vancouver) you can have a nice suburban home - but here. Building is at $230-$250 a sq. ft. Lots are selling minimum $450,000 for a small lot. If you tear-down a house on not such a great street and build you now have the most expensive house on the street which is pretty stupid.

Anyway enough with the rant I am just proving my point that it is tough here for young people as well as established people with a few children. My world at the moment is my home with 4 children and I don't think Victoria is worth it - at least not for me.

Sure there are homes for under $1 million but either they are way too small, need too much work and I mean heating a major renovations, busy streets, tiny lots or are just not suitable for a family and geared more for a couple.

I have had it with blogs, RE agents, this city, peoples thoughtless opinions and RE in general.

I can buy 8 of those in Phoenix. BTW, your agent is full of s**t. There are no such thing as multiple offers, certainly for houses over $1m. Where's the proof? Show us.

No proof! He is just screwing me around I figure. He wants us to buy a lot in Cadboro Bay $450,000 (small, we need a good sized backyard with the kids and dogs) but to build the cost would be $230 sq. ft. so we are up to 1.2 million easy. We wanted to sell our house and buy a cheaper property outside of Victoria or somewhere else where we would get more bang for our buck and he basically told us we did not have enough money. We can't spend more than what our house if worth today.

The one house that sold in Fairfield for $150,000 over asking was on the market for $900,000. It was amazing. 5,000 sq. ft. 1/2 acre lot for Fairfield. One of the most beautiful houses if have ever seen. It needed huge amounts of work. Everything. It did not even have a shower. The kitchen was just a big old sink. It had not been touched since Victorian times. We thought we could do it bit by bit but you could not live in it without some urgent renos. It was a little old lady who owned it. She could have sold it for much more because those homes don't exist anymore. Anyway, the 5 offers were developers that are going to turn it into 6 condos. The neighbours are devastated - they wanted a family to move in. The wonderful backyard is going to be turned into a 15 car parking lot. Whoever bought it got a deal and the old lady got screwed as did the neighbors. I wish we had the money and could have bought it but we never even bothered to put an offer in.

Anyway the long and the short of it is the original price was so low for a house like that it was stupid. It is on Faithful Street. I have no use for RE agents. I am just staying put for the time being.

hadenough wrote

Moved from a nice house in Toronto. 3,800 sq. ft. Living room/dining room/family room/3 bathrooms/4 bedrooms/basement. Nice but nothing to write home about.Looking for the same here is impossible.

I was watching a British RE show called Location, Location the other night. The gal on the show made a comment to one of the prospective buyers: "You are looking for a banana in a hardware store." That is how I feel shopping for real estate in Victoria. What I want is simply out of my price range. The price of real estate is too high compared to what you can get anywhere else in Canada (except Vancouver). Sure the weather (little snow) here is the drawing card but the rain and gray skies are the tradeoff. We can debate the reasons why real estate is expensive and make predictions for the future but it is still unsettling to renters and prospective buyers.

If one stops looking at stats, house size, prices, and market conditions for a moment and takes the time to consider lifestyle and contentment there may be an answer. Renting has it's advantages but owning a home is a lifestyle decision and no one wants to be financially stressed out. In my case, I am considering a move to somewhere else where I get better value for my dollar and a home that my family will enjoy. This is not sour grapes on my part; Victoria has a lot to offer. However, happiness and contentment with one's lot are more important than having to shovel snow and wear a winter jacket.

That is why we are leaving - or hoping to leave. Victoria to me has been one great disappointment. Everyone says rent - Yeah well that is great. We have 4 kids 4 cats and a dog. Honestly who would rent to us? In any case my husband will not sell. He has owned property over 25 years and likes is that way. I would sell tomorrow and rent.

I know many people who are fed up and these are not young couples starting out. These are middle and upper middle income people who are trying to do the best for their families and they move here and have to spend a fortune on housing.

Young people without kids just don't get it but they will someday.

Maybe prices will never go down due to all the rich older people moving here. The people across the street in Oak Bay just bought a house $700,000 (and then they had extensive work done because it needed it). 3 bedrooms. Unfinished basement. They bought it for their son.

My RE agent said we should start saving money so we can help our kids buy property for the future. What is this strange world?

As of today, February 1, 2008, there are 959 condos showing up on a search of the MLS in the VREB area.

hello. i have friends who bought one of these overpriced homes over by 16th and oak.

why did they buy it? they sold their place on the east side - made a bucket of money and decided to climb the property ladder.

i think the people like my friends are dwindling.

cheers,

spark

Victoria Stats for January Released

December SFH sales in Greater Victoria - 187 January SFH sales in Greater Victoria - 228

December Average Price GV - 624K January Average Price GV - 606K DOWN

December Median Price GV - 536K January Median Price GV - 530K DOWN

VREB comments: Victoria Real Estate Board President, Tony Joe, says the market remains very healthy and the strong sales and increase in inventory represent good news for sellers and buyers. "There continues to be strong demand for homes that are realistically priced and the increase in the number of properties available for sale means more choice for buyers," said Joe.

Based on the January sales of 125 condos, and current listings of over 950 condos, there are now more than 7 months of condo inventory on the market.

Looks like the beginning of a glut alright.

Victoria Stats for January - Analysis Update

Dec. 2007 SFH sales in Greater Victoria - 187 Jan. 2007 SFH sales in Greater Victoria - 222 Jan. 2008 SFH sales in GV - 228 UP 3% YOY

December Average Price GV - 624K January Average Price GV - 606K - DOWN

December Median Price GV - 536K January Median Price GV - 530K - DOWN

December 2007 Active Listings - 2800 January 2007 Active Listings - 2650 January 2008 Active Listings - 3027 - UP 14% YOY

December 2007 New Listings - 495 January 2007 New Listings - 1170 January 2008 New Listings - 1395 - UP 12% YOY

In January 2008 there were 19 SFH sales over $1M. Today there are 152 houses over $1M on the market.

Hmmm... So there were 6 more house sales in Jan 08 than Jan 07. Inventory is way up (14%) from last year and more folks listed this January than last year at this time (12%). Median and average prices fell even with 19 sales over $1M.

Comments anyone?? VG do you think he elevator is on the way down??

The start of the bubble bursting in areas in the U.S. was a significant increase in the number of listings. A while later prices started to come down. The stat to watch is listings. If it continues to go up in Victoria, then people will start to get desperate - and people will realize that Victoria is not really that different from what is happening in the States. I'll guess that the median will stay the same for a while, but then in 3-4 months the condo market starts to crash (how many people need a 'luxury investment' or 'luxury retirement' property?). A while later, single family houses will come down. Total price drop? At least 25%, if not 30, over three years. There are going to be a lot of upset speculators. Of course, when the market starts to dry up, new condos won't be built, so the high paying construction jobs will go. These guys (and gals) have probably been speculating and buying heavy, so new there will be a further drop in sales (as well as foreclosures) and lower auto sales etc. And some of the new buildings will get turned into apartments.

In Vancouver and Toronto (and even one Nanaimo development!~)during the last condo glut in the '90s,several developers went to the "auction" alternative to bail out of their unsold units. The first ones to do this actually fared quite well,as much of the bidding ended up being somewhat close to previous asking prices. It took a while for the auctions to run out of aggressive bidders and thats when the "deals" showed up.It will be interesting to see if any one tries it in Victoria as the spring "selling season" gets underway in earnest.