Effective: November 1, 2013
Finally we have a HPI (Housing Price Index) available for the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board area. Officially being released November 1, 2013 in our market and available since 2009 in several other major markets.
The housing price index tracks value of typical examples of various types of housing in major markets across Canada. It works much like the CPI (Consumer Price Index) giving a statistically truer representation of shifts in values over time. Comparing to the historic reporting of average (and median) prices which can vary considerably from month to month and are more a representation of consumer buying power than the actual prices of real estate.
To put some perspective on that, over the past few years we’ve seen prices drop far more than indicated by our real estate board statistics and news releases. For example a buyer today gets a far newer home in better condition for $250,000 than the same buyer got for the same investment 3 or 5 years ago in our market. The average person’s buying power didn’t change in terms of monthly income or mortgage payments and typically people buy the best home they can afford, but they sure get a lot more home for their money now.
The Gray Team
