Victoria Real Estate Board’s new head doesn’t expect major change
Dennis Fimrite may never have actually sold a house, but the incoming president of the Victoria Real Estate Board is not the type to shy away from wading into a little residential market prognostication.
Fimrite, the president of Firm Management, a commercial property management and sales agency, has taken over as VREB president from the outgoing Randi Masters and is predicting 2011 will be a year of stability for the region.
“The word is stability. I don’t think there will be any major changes. It should be a fairly settled year,” said Fimrite, noting that could mean minor swings in selling prices of between two and five per cent.
The board believes the market will remain balanced through the coming year, carrying on from recent months when sales picked up as mortgage rates remained attractive.
Fimrite said the market will again be dictated by interest rates and the overall strength of the economy.
“But Victoria always does a little better than the rest of the province,” Fimrite noted. “It’s a great place to live and there are a lot of diverse industries here.”
A report released Tuesday by ReMax suggested overall market conditions in B.C. will remain healthy and the province is expected to lead the country in terms of percentage increases in sales activity in 2011.
The ReMax Housing Market Outlook report forecasts Vancouver and Victoria to see increases in sales of 10 and eight per cent respectively, while Kelowna is expected to realize six per cent growth in 2011.
The report also noted most major Canadian markets would realize increases in housing values next year, with Vancouver seeing a five per cent increase though Victoria is expected to “hold the line” with the average selling price remaining stable at $505,000.
The housing outlook report characterized the Victoria market as remaining healthy and in 2011 forecasts 6,500 homes to change hands, up from 6,000 forecast for 2010.
The demand was expected to remain stable across all segments in Greater Victoria though it was to remain strongest at the most affordable levels — under $300,000 for condominiums and $550,000 for detached homes.
The report said the overall prognosis for Canada’s real estate markets in 2011 is good.
Nationally, housing sales are expected to mirror 2010 levels, hovering at 441,000 next year, while the average price is forecast to escalate three per cent to $350,000 by year-end 2011.
The ReMax report said 441,000 homes will have changed hands by the end of 2010, a five per cent drop from 2009, while housing values are forecast to continue to climb, up an estimated seven per cent, to $340,000, compared with $320,333 in 2009.
--Times Colonist, December 8, 2010
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