Nanaimo real estate market report for October 2018

Interesting numbers for October 2018.  The market feels like its shifting and slowing however the stats that have come in for October 2018 show that we dipped back into a seller’s market in October for single family homes.

A seller’s market refers to a situation in which the seller calls the shots because demand is relatively high compared to supply. This means the seller is in a stronger position than the buyer to get high prices and negotiate better deals. 
A seller’s market is defined as a market that has 0-3 months of listed inventory.  

Below you’ll find some Single family home stats :

Units listed

Oct. 2018 - 2017 
Oct.  2017 - 189   
Up by 6%

Units Sold

Oct.  2018 – 121
Oct.  2017 – 128
Down by 5%

Percentage of homes that sold that were listed

2018 – 60%
2017 – 68%

Average sell price 

2018 - $559,149
2017 - $515,798
Up by 8%

Percentage of list price received

2018 – 97%
2017 – 99%
Days to sell
2018 – 31
2017 – 25
Up by 27%

Absorption rate

One of the key indicators on how well the Nanaimo real estate market is doing is the absorption rate. 
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. 
Based on numbers received from the latest real estate stats published by VIREB (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board) I can calculate the absorption rates for single family homes, condos & townhouses.
 

Single family homes:

October 2018 – 11.99 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October.
October 2017 – 10.19 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October

Condos:

October 2018 –   11.24 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October
October 2017 – 4.53 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October

Townhouses:

October 2018 – 9.07 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October
October 2017 – 4.34 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of October

What do these absorption rates tell us about the market?

By tracking these numbers monthly it helps me to understand what type of real estate market Nanaimo is experiencing. Additionally, these absorption rates assist me in advising my clients on realistic expectations on the length of time it will take to sell their home.
As a rule of thumb, a Seller's 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 this information you can see that all three property types are experiencing a Seller’s market.  However, if you compare the 2018 absorption rates in all three property types against the 2017 rates you will notice that the seller’s market in 2017 was more pronounced.  It’s possible that if this keeps up we may see a more balanced market in the coming days.