Nanaimo Real Estate Market As Of August 31, 2021
The sales stats at the end of August 2021 indicate that the market is still a strong Seller’s market. We are still seeing multiple offers in all prices of homes.
The biggest challenge for home buyer’s at the moment is the low inventory level in all types of properties. The biggest changes year-to-date, in the single family home market, seem to be that at the end of August 2021, 22% fewer homes were listed, prices were up over August 2020 by 37% and unit sales were down by 7 % as compared to August 2020.
The absorption rate indicates that we are still experiencing a strong Sellers market which was also happening in August 2020.
Based on the stats that VIREB (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board) have supplied, I am able to summarize the market as follows:
Below are the types of real estate sold in August 2021 (source VIREB) in Nanaimo:
| Property Type | # of sold unit’s | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Single Family | 138 | $831,194 |
| Condo (Apt) | 35 | $378,123 |
| Condo (Patio) | 3 | $498,000 |
| Condo (Townhouse) | 20 | $504,425 |
| Lots | 5 | $757,180 |
For single family homes that sold in August 2021 the average home took 15 days to sale as compared to August 2020 when it took 14 days.
Sales of apartment style condos were up from sales in August 2020 but were taking 20 fewer days to sell in August 2021 than in August 2020.
Sales of townhouses were down compared to unit sales in August 2020 and were taking 10 fewer days to sell in August 2021 than in August 2020.
Sales of patio homes were down as compared to unit sales in August 2020 and were taking 32 fewer days to sell in August 2021 than in August 2020.
Overall, the market in August 2021 was up. The biggest change was the increase in average price in all property types year-to-date .
Absorption Rates for single family homes in August 2021 as compared to August 2020.
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.
Absorption rate
August 2021 – 5.87 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of August.
August 2020 – 8.54 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of August.
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.
The absorption rate indicates that we are still experiencing a strong 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. A Seller’s market on the other hand is a market where supply is less than the demand. This type of market is a market that can sometimes give a Seller the advantage. For additional information on the Nanaimo real estate market please give me a call.
Every Nanaimo buyer, seller, property, and neighbourhood has its own details. Ask Lumen for a quick next-step answer, check the latest market stats, or send your question to The Dan Morris Real Estate Team for personal guidance.