Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians have been taking advantage of some of the lowest mortgage interest rates in history. 

On March 4, 2020, the Bank of Canada (BoC) made a 50 basis point cut to its mortgage-market influencing overnight rate as the global economy grappled with the arrival of COVID-19, the first cut since 2015. After two additional cuts, the overnight rate sank to 0.25% where it has remained since. 

Now, according to the most recent overnight rate announcement from the BoC on Wednesday, Dec. 8, the current rate is still expected to hold into mid-2022. Adding into the mix, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation is anticipated to remain elevated into the first half of 2022. 

Shaun Cathcart, Senior Economist and Director of Housing Data and Market Analysis at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) sheds light on what inflation and interest rates could have in store for us in 2022.

Source: Michelle McNally - Realtor.ca - see the full article at https://www.realtor.ca/blog/what-2022-has-in-store-for-inflation-and-interest-rates/23899/1361

Another month goes by, and amongst the chaos and cotastrophes of floods, landslides, and other disasters, the real estate wheel in Campbell River continues to roll....

ACTIVE CURRENT LISTINGS:

As of todays date, December 8, there are currently just 70 active properties listed for sale in Campbell River. To put this into perspective..... there are over 80 active Real Estate Agents in Campbell River, so there is an average of less than one active listing per agent.  Of these 70 properties;

- 41 single family dwellings, ranging in price from $289,000 to $2,800,000

- 2 half duplexes and 2 full duplexes

- 9 condominiums priced from $148,500 (studio unit) to $688,000 (waterfront 2 bed 2 bath unit)

- 2 townhomes

- 3 single level patio homes

- 4 manufactured homes in parks

- 7 bare land lots priced between $269,500 to $38,000,000 ( yes, $38M - not a typo)

Also, a reminder, that although these numbers reflect the number of active listings currently on the MLS Market, there is a strong chance that many of these properties already have accepted offers on them.

RESIDENTIAL SALES:

The residential home sales for the month of November totalled 63 sold properties. The sales range in price from $276,000 to $1,649,000, with an average selling price of $663,645. This includes every property in Campbell River from bare land, mobile homes, condos & townhouses, and single family dwellings. To break out each category;

- 43 single family dwelling sales with an average sale price of $723,309

- 1 half duplex at $675,000

- 8 condos averaging $392,312

- 3 patio homes averaging $589,667

- 4 townhomes ageraging $483,000

- 2 manufactured homes averaging $317,250

- 2 bare lots averaging $365,555

We continue to see a jump in our average sale prices, with an increase from $646,607 in October 2021 to $663,645 in November. This increase is still primarily due to the lack of supply and increased demand. Even as we enter into the December winter season, the market is not slowing. For those homeowners waiting until spring to list their home (which is usually the case), there still is no better time to list & sell than right now, especially with the recent announcement of potential interest rate hikes coming in the new year. This is also driving up the demand for buyers wanting to get locked in before the rates rise. 

Another rising number is the average number of properties selling for list price or higher, 40 of the 63 sales in November hit this category, a staggering 63% of all home/property sales selling for = or + their list price, with the majority of these sales resulting from competing multiple offers. This phenominon is not necessarily specific to any home category or price group. A $250,000 condo sold for $276,000 and a $929,000 home sold for $970,000. Also, a $1.649,000 sold for list price. So nobody seems to be immune from the risk of competing offers.

Welcome to my new website & new blog posts. I will post regular market updates specific to the Campbell River area every month here.

For October 2021, we saw a total of 74 residential property sales in Campbell River:

  - 49 Single Family Dwelling houses

  - 12 condominiums

  - 4 half duplexes

  - 5 townhomes/patio homes

  - 2 mobile homes

  - 1 full duplex

  - 1 four-plex

Prices of these home sales ranged from $129,000 - $2,230,000, with a total of $47,848,941 worth of property sold.  Average sale price for residential properties for the month of October was $646,607. Forty-two of these properties, over 56% of the sales, sold for list price or higher than list price, a huge indicator of the strength of this seller's market.

We continue to see a huge demand for homes in Campbell River with very low supply. We currently have just 84 active property listings, with a strong likelihood that at least 1/3 of these properties already have accepted offers.