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The sales stats at the end of February 2021 indicate that the market has turned into a strong Seller’s market. We are still seeing multiple offers in all prices of homes.
The biggest changes year-to-date in the single family home market seem to be that at the end of February 2021 49% more homes were listed, prices were up over February 2020 by 33% and unit sales were up by 58% as compared to February 2020.
The average sale price for single family homes was up by a whopping 33% compared to February 2020. Interestingly, homes were receiving, on average 103% of list price in February 2021 as compared to 98.7% in February 2020. Additionally, the homes that did sell in February 2021 were selling in 39% fewer days than they sold in February 2020.
Based on the stats that VIREB(Vancouver Island Real Estate Board) have supplied, I am able to summarize the market as follows:
Below are the types of real estate sold in February 2021 (source VIREB) in Nanaimo:
| Property Type | # of sold unit’s | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Single Family | 154 | $787874 |
| Condo (Apt) | 51 | $363315 |
| Condo (Patio) | 2 | $555,550 |
| Condo (Townhouse) | 24 | $464,350 |
| Lots | 19 | $453,011 |
For single family homes that sold in February 2021 the average home took 22 days to sale as compared to February 2020 where it took 36 days.
Sales of apartment style condos were up from sales in February 2020butwere taking 94 more days to sell in February 2021 than in February 2020.
Sales of townhouses were down compared to unit sales in February 2020and were taking 33more days to sell in February 2021 than in February 2020.
Sales of patio homes were down by 60% as compared to unit sales in February 2020 and were taking 23fewer days to sell in February 2021 than in February 2020.
Overall, the market in February 2021 was up. The biggest change was the increase in average price in all property types year-to-date.
Absorption Rates for single family homes in February 2021 as compared to February 2020
The above stats are informative but to get a true picture of how the local market is doing we need to calculate absorption rates. The definition of absorption rates is the number of weeks it takes to sell the current real estate inventory in Nanaimo at the present rate of sales. Below you will find a comparison between absorption rates this year versus last year.
Absorption rate
February 2021 – 4.22 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of February
February 2020 – 11.75 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of February
As a rule of thumb, a Sellers market has less than 3 months of inventory, a Balanced market has between 3-6 months of inventory and a Buyer’s market has over 6 months.
The absorption rate indicates that we are experiencing a strong Seller’s market whereas we were experiencing a balanced market verging on a Seller’s market in February 2020.
A Balanced market is just that; a market where there are a similar number of buyer’s looking to buy real estate as there are sellers hoping to sell. A Seller’s market on the other hand is a market where supply is less than the demand. This type of market is a market that can sometimes give a Seller the advantage.
For additional information on the Nanaimo real estate market please give me a call.
