Time for another real estate listings and prices market update. Canada day has come and gone and so has the annual Vancouver Island music festival. Our weather turned great just before the music festival and many people were outside enjoying the weather and what our great valley has to offer. I even managed to get out a do a bit of fishing. But what went on with our real estate market over the past week or so?
There were 39 new listings in the Comox Valley real estate market, 41 price reductions, and 26 sales. Sale prices ranged from $130K to $590K. There were 17 sales in the city of Courtenay, 5 sales in the town of Comox, 3 in Crown Isle, and 1 in the Comox Peninsula.
At the end of June there were 1535 active real estate listings in the Comox Valley and the sell to list ratio was 51%. The number of listings stood at a level that was about 5% higher than last year and the sell to list ratio was down from last years level of 58%. When compared to the same time last year, the number of days to sell rose about 4%.
So what does last week mean in context? In general, the number of homes on the market rose slightly increasing the overall inventory to the highest level in the past couple of years. While sales were up slightly from the previous week, the overall market remains favourable to buyers. Also favourable to buyers are mortgage interest rates that remain at very low levels.
Buyers and sellers should now be aware of the changes to government back insured mortgages that took effect today. Changes include: a reduction in the maximum amortization period from 30 to 25 years and a reduction from 85% to 80% in the maximum amount lenders can issue home equity loans. Changes also included fixing the maximum gross debt service ratio at 39 percent and the maximum total debt service ration at 44 percent. The gross debt service ratio is based on your monthly housing costs while your total debt service ration also includes your other debt payments. As well, government backed insured mortgages are only available for homes with a purchase price of less than $1 million. On the positive side, mortgage interest rates remain at very low levels.
If you are considering either buying or selling in the Comox Valley, contact me to discuss your real estate needs and the latest real estate market updates. We will review the market as it applies to your specific circumstances and discuss a plan and strategy that will work for you.