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Single family home sales in Nanaimo for March 2020 were similar toMarch 2019 in that the Nanaimo real estate market stats continue to show signs of a balanced market.
Unit sales of single-family homes are down by 4% as compared to March 2019. However, prices continue to risein all property types except for lots. The average sale price for single family homes was up by 9%, Apartment style condos up by 17%, patio homes up by 21% and townhouses up by 11% as compared to March 2019.
Based on the stats that VIREB(Vancouver Island Real Estate Board) havesupplied,I am able to summarize the market as follows:
Below are thetypes of real estate soldin March 2020(source VIREB) in Nanaimo:
| Property Type | # of sold unit’s | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Single Family | 90 | $592,262 |
| Condo (Apt) | 13 | $341,923 |
| Condo (Patio) | 5 | $484,689 |
| Condo (Townhouse) | 21 | $412,748 |
| Lots | 11 | $253,455 |
The average single-family home was taking 12% fewer days to sell than in March 2019. The Sell/List ratio is the percentage of houses that were listed that sold. In March2020 the Sell/List ratio was 49% which was 2% higher than the March 2019 ratio of 47%. Sales ofapartment style condoswas down by 62% from March 2019 and were taking 97% more days to sell than inMarch 2019.InMarch 2019the average sales price was 17% higher than in March 2019. Sales of townhouse units were up by62% from March 2019. They were taking 42% fewer days to sell, and the average sale price was 11% higher in March 2020 than in March 2019. The sales of patio homeswere upby 25% in March 2020 as compared to March 2019. The average sale price for patio homes was 21% higher in March 2020as compared to March 2019. Overall the market in March 2020 was steadywith some property types a bit slower in the way of unit sales than in March2019. Prices continue to rise in all property types year-to-date with the exception of lots.
Absorption Rates for single family homes in March 2020 as compared to March 2019
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.
The absorption rate for single family homes in Nanaimo as at March 31, 2020compared toMarch 31, 2019
March 31, 2020– 13.87 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of March.
March 31, 2019– 14.40 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of March.
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.
Based on the above information it seems that both March 2020 and March 2019 were experiencing a strong balanced market bordering on a seller’s market.
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.
For additional information on the Nanaimo real estate market please give me a call.
