Nanaimo Real Estate Market Report: December 2018
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NANAIMO — 2018 has officially ended and the Nanaimo housing market performed as expected by returning to normal levels.
In December 2018, 46 units were sold in Nanaimo at an average price of $574,955 which is just over a third of the units sold in December 2017 but $45,189 under the average for 2018. There are several factors to account for the adjusting of the market, one being just plain returning to more normal levels after the robust markets we witnessed in 2016 and 2017. However, government policy measures, such as the mortgage stress test, do make it harder for some prospective home buyers, in fact it can erode their buying power by as much as 20 percent in some cases.
Despite lower demand, the year-over-year benchmark prices of single-family homes continue to rise Vancouver Island wide(up 10% from December 2017). In fact, in Nanaimo, single-family homes increased by 7% from 2017. In many communities including Nanaimo, we’re bound to see “micro markets” favouring sellers for starter or moderately prices homes and benefitting buyers for higher-end homes.
This market makes it very complex to price your home if you’re selling. Property assessments, which were recently issued, can confuse sellers as it’s the assessed price based on the previous year and doesn’t reflect the current value of a property. It’s important to reach out to a REALTOR© and have them conduct a competitive market analysis to determine the optimal sales price.
