2016 Buyer Profile - Vancouver Island Real Estate Board · 2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 1 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Introduction Notice to Readers The information and

2016BUYERPROFILEvancouver island real estate board

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 1 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Introduction

Notice to Readers

The information and data provided in this report have been obtained or prepared from sources that are

believed to be reliable and accurate, but have not necessarily been independently verified. The authors

make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and data

nor the conclusions that have been derived from their use. Therefore, any use of the information by the

reader or other recipient shall be at the sole risk and responsibility of such reader or recipient.

The information provided in this report and the facts upon which the information is based as well as the

information itself may change at any time without notice subject to market conditions and the

assumptions made thereto.

The authors expressly disclaim and take no responsibility, and shall not be liable:

for any financial or economic decisions taken by any person based in any way from the

information presented in this report;

for any interpretation or misunderstanding of any such information on the part of any person;

for any losses, costs or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused in connection with

any use of such information, including, consequential or indirect losses, loss of revenue, loss of

expected profit or loss of income, whether or not as a result of any negligent act or omission of

the authors.

Vancouver Island Real Estate Board

2016 Buyer Report


Table of Contents

Forward ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Objectives and Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 9

Questionnaire Survey .............................................................................................................................................. 13

..... Board Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ............................................................................... 16

Community Movement ............................................................................................................... 16

Length of time lived in same community .................................................................................... 16

Moving Back to a Community after Time Away .......................................................................... 17

Buyer Origin ................................................................................................................................. 18

Major Reason for Purchase ......................................................................................................... 19

First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence (Yes or No) .............................................................. 19

Used RRSP for down payment (Yes or No) .................................................................................. 20

Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No) ............................................................................... 20

How Buyers First Became Aware of Property ............................................................................. 21

How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR® .......................................................................................... 22

Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR® ...................................................................................... 23

..... Board Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data ................................................................................. 24

Selling Price Range ....................................................................................................................... 24

Home Type ................................................................................................................................... 26

Number of Bedrooms .................................................................................................................. 27

Number of Bathrooms ................................................................................................................. 28

Exterior ........................................................................................................................................ 29

Parking ......................................................................................................................................... 30

Site Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 30

..... Board Area – Typical Buyer ......................................................................................................................... 31

..... Campbell River Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ....................................................... 33




Buyer Origin ................................................................................................................................. 35




2016 Buyer Report






What form of agency was provided by the REALTOR® ............................................................... 40

..... Campbell River Sub ‐ Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data .......................................................... 41


Home Type ................................................................................................................................... 43



Exterior ........................................................................................................................................ 45

Parking ......................................................................................................................................... 46


..... Campbell River Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer.................................................................................................... 47

..... Comox Valley Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey .......................................................... 49




Buyer Origin ................................................................................................................................. 51








..... Comox Valley Sub‐Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data .............................................................. 57


Home Type ................................................................................................................................... 59



Exterior ........................................................................................................................................ 61


2016 Buyer Report


Parking ......................................................................................................................................... 62


..... Comox Valley Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer ...................................................................................................... 63

.... Cowichan Valley Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ..................................................... 65




Buyer Origin ................................................................................................................................. 67








.... Cowichan Valley – Home characteristics from MLS ® data ......................................................................... 74


Home Type ................................................................................................................................... 76



Exterior ........................................................................................................................................ 78

Parking ......................................................................................................................................... 79


.... Cowichan Valley Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer ................................................................................................. 80

..... Nanaimo Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ................................................................. 82




Buyer Origin ................................................................................................................................. 84





2016 Buyer Report






..... Nanaimo – Home characteristics from MLS ® data ..................................................................................... 90


Home Type ................................................................................................................................... 92



Exterior ........................................................................................................................................ 94

Parking ......................................................................................................................................... 95


..... Nanaimo Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer ............................................................................................................. 96

..... Parksville/Qualicum Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey................................................ 98




Buyer Origin ............................................................................................................................... 100

Major Reason for Purchase ....................................................................................................... 101

First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence (Yes or No) ............................................................ 101

Used RRSP for down payment (Yes or No) ................................................................................ 102

Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No) ............................................................................. 102

How Buyers First Became Aware of Property ........................................................................... 103

How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR® ........................................................................................ 104

What form of agency was provided by the REALTOR® ............................................................. 105

..... Parksville/Qualicum – Home characteristics from MLS ® data ................................................................. 106

Selling Price Range ..................................................................................................................... 106

Home Type ................................................................................................................................. 108

Number of Bedrooms ................................................................................................................ 109

Number of Bathrooms ............................................................................................................... 109

Exterior ...................................................................................................................................... 110

Parking ....................................................................................................................................... 111


2016 Buyer Report


Site Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 111

..... Parksville/Qualicum Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer .......................................................................................... 112

.... Port Alberni/West Coast Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ...................................... 114

Community Movement ............................................................................................................. 114

Length of time lived in same community .................................................................................. 114

Moving Back to a Community after Time Away ........................................................................ 115

Buyer Origin ............................................................................................................................... 116








.... Port Alberni/West Coast – Home characteristics from MLS ® data .......................................................... 122


Home Type ................................................................................................................................. 124



Exterior ...................................................................................................................................... 126

Parking ....................................................................................................................................... 127


.... Port Alberni/West Coast Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer................................................................................... 128

.... North Island Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey .......................................................... 131




Buyer Origin ............................................................................................................................... 133






2016 Buyer Report





.... North Island – Home characteristics from MLS ® data .............................................................................. 139


Home Type ................................................................................................................................. 141



Exterior ...................................................................................................................................... 143

Parking ....................................................................................................................................... 144


.... North Island Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer ...................................................................................................... 145

...... Islands Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey ................................................................... 146




Buyer Origin ............................................................................................................................... 148








...... Islands – Home characteristics from MLS ® data ...................................................................................... 154


Home Type ................................................................................................................................. 156



Exterior ...................................................................................................................................... 158

Parking ....................................................................................................................................... 159



2016 Buyer Report


...... Islands Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer ............................................................................................................... 160

...... Survey Data Comparisons from 2014 ‐2016 .............................................................................................. 162

Community Movement 2014 ‐ 2016 ......................................................................................... 163

Time Resident in Community Prior to Purchase 2014 – 2016 ................................................... 165

Buyer Origin 2014 – 2016 .......................................................................................................... 167

Major Reason for Purchase 2014 ‐ 2016 ................................................................................... 168

First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence 2014 – 2016 .......................................................... 169

Used RRSP for Down payment 2014 ‐ 2016 .............................................................................. 170

Purchased as Retirement Home 2014 ‐2016 ............................................................................. 171

How Buyers First Became Aware of Property 2014 – 2016....................................................... 172

How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR® 2014 ‐ 2016 .................................................................... 174

Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR® 2014 ‐ 2016 ................................................................ 176

...... Survey Data Comparisons .......................................................................................................................... 177

Survey Data 2014 – 2016 ........................................................................................................... 177

Response Data 2014 – 2016 ...................................................................................................... 178

Board Area Selling Price Range 2014 ‐ 2016.............................................................................. 179

Selling Price Range 2014 ‐ 2016 ................................................................................................. 182

Home Type 2014 ‐ 2016............................................................................................................. 183

Number of Bedrooms 2014 ‐ 2016 ............................................................................................ 184

Number of Bathrooms 2014 ‐ 2016 ........................................................................................... 185

Exterior 2014 ‐ 2016 .................................................................................................................. 186

Parking 2014 ‐ 2016 ................................................................................................................... 187

Site Characteristics 2014 ‐ 2016 ................................................................................................ 188


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Profile January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016

A report containing results of a survey completed by Buyers of residential property and corresponding

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) information summarizing ‘home characteristics’ on Vancouver Island, north

of Victoria.

Forward

The 2016 Buyer Profile continues to provide timely, up‐to‐date information for REALTORS® about the

Buyers of real estate on Vancouver Island by providing a summary analysis of the overall Board Area of the

Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) and the various sub‐areas within its boundaries. These analyses

have been carried out based on data collected from a mail survey questionnaire of Buyers purchasing

residential homes listed and sold through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) during 2016. Lots and

acreage sales were not surveyed.

In an effort to provide a unique combination of Buyer Profile information (as provided by the survey

information), corresponding data from the MLS® database on ‘home characteristics’ (i.e., home type, selling

price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, exterior type, parking accommodations and site features) were

also compiled and analysed. Hence, a statistically based ‘snapshot’ of a Buyer profile and corresponding

‘home characteristic’ preference is presented here. Similarities and differences within the sub‐areas of the

VIREB Board jurisdiction are discussed. In addition, a comparison of changes from 2014 to 2016 (focusing

on the top three responses for each factor) is included.

Objectives and Methodology

The 2016 Buyer Profile findings are based on the questionnaire that follows these introductory comments.

Information and goals included: the major reason for the purchase; community movement; how long did

the Buyer live in the community prior to purchase; time away from community; where did the Buyer live

prior to purchase; was this a first‐time purchase; use of RRSPs; whether home was purchased for

retirement; how did the Buyer first become aware of the property; how did the Buyer choose a REALTOR®;

and was Single or Dual agency used. Only Buyers purchasing residential homes listed and sold through the

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system were surveyed during 2016. Descriptive analyses for these data

were similar to the previous Buyer Profiles. Descriptive analyses of data, from the survey and the MLS®

database, were applied to produce frequency histograms and pie charts. The resultant figures and tables

provide useful and insightful information about the Buyers’ profiles along with corresponding summary

information about the ‘home characteristics’ of the real estate. Comparisons of numerous characteristics

within the Board Area and among the various sub‐areas are presented.


2016 Buyer Report


Survey Response

A total of 10,211 Board Area sales data records, up (26.9%) from last year’s total of 8,047 by 2,164, were

obtained from the MLS® data for the ‘home characteristics’.

From the mail survey (10,211 letters mailed out within Board Area), a total of 2,214 mail and online

survey records (21.7%) were completed and entered into a database, from which the Buyer Profile was

developed. This number is a reasonable reflection of all MLS® records. The figure below illustrates the

monthly timing of questionnaire mail‐outs to all sub‐areas within the Board Area for 2016, which is an

illustration of the seasonality of sales.

Number of Questionnaires Mailed Out in 2016

The sub‐areas analyzed this year were Campbell River (992 MLS® records and 241 surveys returned);

Comox Valley (1,780 MLS® records and 434 surveys returned); Cowichan Valley (1,913 MLS® records and

444 surveys returned); Nanaimo (2,855 MLS® records and 552 surveys returned); Parksville/Qualicum

(1,564 MLS® records and 395 surveys returned); Port Alberni/West Coast (648 MLS® records and 90

surveys returned); North Island (184 MLS® records and 16 surveys returned); and Islands (Cormorant,

Cortes, Denman, Gabriola, Hornby, Malcolm, Mudge, Protection, Quadra, Read, and Small) (275 MLS®

records and 42 surveys returned).

The same analyses (for questionnaire survey and MLS® data) were conducted for the Board Area and all

sub‐areas, except for the North Island sub‐area (see explanation below). For the Board Area and most

sub‐areas, the response rates for the questionnaire data were sufficiently high enough to provide a

strong representation of general population trends. However, the Port Alberni/West Coast and Islands


2016 Buyer Report


sub‐areas both had noticeably smaller percentage responses from the questionnaires (13.9% and 15.3%,

respectively) while the North Island only had an 8.7% response rate to the questionnaire (see figure

below).

Full analyses were conducted for all sub‐areas from the questionnaire data except for the North

Island sub‐area; since there were only 16 surveys returned (a response rate of 8.7%) for that sub‐area.

Hence, only MLS® data were analyzed for this sub‐area.

Response Rates for 2016

Descriptive statistics consist of frequency histograms and pie charts to illustrate differences in categories

and groupings.

The total number of responses from the mail survey varied for different categories (e.g. Buyer Origin,

First‐Time Purchase, Major Reason for Purchase, etc.), as not all questions were answered by every

Buyer when the form was mailed back.

Brief descriptive comments were included for each type of analysis.

In addition, following the analyses for the Board Area and for each sub‐area, a table summarizing the

‘typical’ Buyer is presented (i.e., consisting of the highest frequency of each category analysed).

The 2016 survey had very minor changes to some questions to increase respondent accuracy. Those

changes include: an additional option of “downsizing” on question one asking about major reason for

purchase; an additional two options about purchasing additional residences; on question six asking

about community movement; added the option ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ on

question 10; and a reordering of questions.

MLS® records of home characteristics consisted of descriptions of up to 70 different categories of

‘Exterior Types.’ Many of the descriptions were combinations of two ‘Exterior Types’, but their

frequencies were often much less than one per cent. Hence, for ease of interpretation, the frequency


2016 Buyer Report


tables and histograms only include the top 15 categories for the various areas, which comprises of 98.7%

of the respondents.

Statistical comparisons in the Board Area section across zones only compare those zones with responses

of 10 or higher for reasons both of confidentially and omitting unreliable data due to small sample size.

Finally, a three‐year comparative section is again in this year’s Buyer Profile as a ‘snapshot’ of current

trends for the entire Board Area and for each sub‐area.


2016 Buyer Report


Questionnaire Survey

BOARD AREA


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 16 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Board Area

Board Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers was to move to a new community

with 1,257 responses at 56.8%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same community’ with 727

responses at 32.9%, and finally 147 responses at 6.6 % indicated they were ‘Moving back to the community’.

These results were consistent with those from the 2015 survey.

Length of time lived in same community

For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response to the question

of how long they had lived there was for the category of ‘More than 20 years’ with 38.4%. The figures for

living ‘More than 20 years’ in an community ranged from 22.1% in the Parksville / Qualicum sub‐area to

63.9% in Port Alberni / West Coast sub‐area. The second highest Board Area frequency was 18.9%, for the ‘6

to 10 years’ category. These results were consistent with those from the 2015 survey.

Community movement Count %

New to this community. (Less than one year) 1,257 56.8%

Moving to a new residence in same community. 727 32.9%

Moving back to this community. 147 6.6%

Not moving, but purchasing an additional residence in the same community. 42 1.9%

Not moving, but purchasing an additional residence in a different community. 40 1.8%

Board Area 2,213 100.0%

Years lived in current community Count %

1 to 2 73 9.0%

3 to 5 116 14.4%

6 to 10 153 18.9%

11 to 15 94 11.6%

16 to 20 62 7.7%

More than 20 years 310 38.4%

Board Area 808 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Moving Back to a Community after Time Away

For those Buyers moving back to a community after having lived elsewhere for some time, the category of ‘6

to 10 years’ showed the highest frequency at 23.1% for the Board Area, with figures ranging from 11.8% in

Parksville / Qualicum sub‐area to 30.0% in the Cowichan Valley sub‐area.

In 2014 the number one category was ‘6 to 10’ years at 23.6%, whereas in 2015 the number one category

was ‘More than 20 years’ at 26.2%, and in 2016 the top category was again ‘6 to 10’ years at 23.1%.

Years away from community Count %

1 to 2 19 12.8%

3 to 5 25 16.9%

6 to 10 34 23.1%

11 to 15 23 15.5%

16 to 20 16 10.8%




2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Board Area (determined from 1,400

responses) was ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 20.3%, followed by ‘Vancouver’ at 19.4%, and ‘Other

B.C.’ at 12.3%. Alberta was ranked second in 2014 with 14.8%, third in 2015 with 9.7% and now fourth in

2016 with 10.4%1.

When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 73.2% of the respondents, and those coming

from Vancouver Island was 31.6%. This is an increase of total B.C. Buyers from 2015 where the aggregated

total was 75.7% of the respondents in 2015, and a decrease from Vancouver Island where the aggregated

total was 54.0% in 2014.

1 New for 2016, respondents were only prompted to answer the question “Where are you moving from?” if they selected “Moving back to this

community” or “New to this community” in the previous question. Therefore, interperiod results must be interpreted with caution. For example: look to section C.1.a “Community Movement” in the 2016 report for the equivalent comparison for those moving “within the same area” from 2015.

Moved from? Count %

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island (other

than Victoria or same town/city)286 20.3%

Vancouver 272 19.4%

Other BC 172 12.3%

Alberta 145 10.4%

Fraser Valley 117 8.4%

Greater Victoria 115 8.2%

Ontario 102 7.3%

Saskatchewan/Manitoba 54 3.9%

Within same area (same town/city) 44 3.1%

Gulf Islands 21 1.5%

Other Canada 36 2.6%

Rest of World 36 2.6%

Board Area 1,400 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Major Reason for Purchase

The major reason for residential property purchase in the Board Area was for ‘Principal Residence’ with a

proportion of 81.5% of the respondents. Some of the more frequently mentioned responses in the ‘Other’

category included family, job, and retirement.

The ‘principal residence’ category decreased from 94.1% in 2015.

First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence (Yes or No)

‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 16.0% of purchases made in the Board Area. The lowest frequency of

‘First‐time Buyers’ occurred in the Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area at 8.4%, while the highest frequency

occurred in the Nanaimo sub‐area at 22.3%.


Reason for Purchase Count %

Your principal residence 1,802 81.5%

Downsizing 259 11.7%

Investment / rental home 59 2.7%

Recreation / vacation home 29 1.3%

Housing for self or family attending learning institution 12 0.5%

Other 52 2.3%

Board Area 2,213 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 339 16.0%

No 1786 84.0%

Board Area 2,125 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Used RRSP for down payment (Yes or No)

The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Board Area was 30.0%, ranging

from 20.0% in the Port Alberni / West Coast and Parksville / Qualicum sub‐area to 35.6% in the Comox Valley.

The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment has been steadily decreasing from

42.0% in 2014 to 36.8% in 2015, and 30.0% in 2016.

Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No)

The proportion of respondents buying their home for retirement purposes was 56.8%. This proportion varied

significantly by zone, ranging from 45.4% in the Nanaimo sub‐area to 68.4% in the Parksville / Qualicum sub‐

area.

These results have decreased from 62.3% in 2015 to 56.8% in 2016.

Used RRSP for down payment Count %

Yes 97 30.1%

No 225 69.9%

I do not know / not applicable 17


Retirement Home Count %

Yes 1,016 56.8%

No 774 43.2%


Board Area 2,125 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


How Buyers First Became Aware of Property

The top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 30.2%,

‘Internet ‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 23.0%, and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ at 12.5%.

Among the sub‐areas, the frequency for ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ ranged from 14.3% in the Island sub‐

area to 34.6% in the Nanaimo sub‐area.

As a matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 32.3% when added together. One notable difference

was ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ was added in the 2016 survey and was the third top

choice.

How Buyers First Became Aware of Property Count %

My REALTOR® supplied PCS (Private Client Services) 669 30.2%

Internet ‐ searched on REALTOR.ca 508 23.0%

My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS) 276 12.5%

Internet ‐ searched on website other than REALTOR.ca 206 9.3%

Saw a FOR SALE sign on Property 174 7.9%

Contacted a Real Estate office 152 6.9%

Word of Mouth‐Relative / Friend / Co‐worker / Acquaintance 95 4.3%

Open House 51 2.3%

Real Estate Tabloid 34 1.5%

Newspaper Ad – Classifieds 15 0.7%

Real Estate Kiosk in the Mall 1 0.0%

Other: Please specify 31 1.4%

Board Area 2,212 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR®

The top three ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a

relative’ at 15.1%, ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 14.5%, and ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐

worker, associate or friend’ at 14.1%.

The ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative’ category ranged from 11.1% in the Port Alberni

/ West Coast sub‐area to 17.5% in Campbell River sub‐area.


REALTORS® depend primarily on relationship‐based referrals to service their business as 39.6% came as a

result of a recommendation whereas only 10.8% came from an online or print advertisement.

The ‘Other’ category included responses such as interviewed several REALTORS®, researched online, met

socially, or random meeting.

Source of REALTOR® Count %

REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative 334 15.1%

Previously dealt with this REALTOR® 321 14.5%

REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker or friend 311 14.1%

REALTOR® is a friend or co‐worker 223 10.1%

REALTOR® was recommended/referred by another REALTOR® 213 9.6%

Internet‐REALTOR® was the agent on listed property 172 7.8%

Called the REALTOR® shown on a For Sale sign on property 145 6.6%

Attended at a Real Estate office 70 3.2%

Called the REALTOR® shown on a newspaper/tabloid ad 67 3.0%

Attended an Open House 62 2.8%

REALTOR® is a family member 60 2.7%

REALTOR® is a client or customer of your business 20 0.9%

Recommended by Bank or Mortgage company 18 0.8%

REALTOR® spoke my language 13 0.6%


Armed Forces Relocation service 3 0.1%

Other 169 7.7%

Board Area 2,209 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR®

The most common form of Agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency ‐ representing only the Buyer’ at

70.5%. ‘Dual Agency ‐ representing both Buyer and Seller’ represented 21.0%, and ‘Don’t Know’

represented 8.5% of respondents. ‘Single Agency’ was the most common in all the Board Areas; however,

the range varied from 57.3% in the Port Alberni / West Coast sub‐area to 73.2% in the Nanaimo sub‐area.

These results are consistent from 2015.

Agency Form Count %

Single Agency – representing only Buyer 1,559 70.5%

Dual Agency – representing both Buyer and Seller 465 21.0%

I do not know / not applicable 188 8.5%

Board Area 2,212 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Board Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range

For ease of interpretation, home selling prices were categorized into $50,000 increments up to $1 million.

Above $1 million, prices were combined, and totalled 145 sales in 2016, a large jump from the 63 sales in

2015. The top three categories for the Board Area were $300,001‐ $350,000 at 13.3%, $350,001 ‐ $400,001

at 12.3%, and $250,001‐$300,000 at 12.1%, and totalling 37.7% of all sales.

The top three price categories for 2015 were $300,001‐ $350,000 at 15.3%, $250,001‐$300,000 at 14.0%,

and $350,001 ‐ $400,001 at 11.9% totalling 41.2% of all sales.

The largest cited population for each of the top three selling price categories were in the following sub‐

areas, in increasing price order: $250,001‐$300,000 was Campbell River at 18.0%; $300,001‐$350,000 for

the Campbell River sub‐area at 18.8%; and for $350,001 ‐ $400,001 was the Cowichan Valley sub‐area at

15.2%.

Selling Price Range Count %

$0 to $50,000 127 1.2%

$50,001 to $100,000 293 2.9%

$100,001 to $150,000 505 4.9%

$150,001 to $200,000 747 7.3%

$200,001 to $250,000 982 9.6%

$250,001 to $300,000 1,232 12.1%

$300,001 to $350,000 1,354 13.3%

$350,001 to $400,000 1,255 12.3%

$400,001 to $450,000 999 9.8%

$450,001 to $500,000 691 6.8%

$500,001 to $550,000 533 5.2%

$550,001 to $600,000 384 3.8%

$600,001 to $650,000 283 2.8%

$650,001 to $700,000 228 2.2%

$700,001 to $750,000 137 1.3%

$750,001 to $800,000 93 0.9%

$800,001 to $850,000 59 0.6%

$850,001 to $900,000 82 0.8%

$900,001 to $950,000 40 0.4%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 42 0.4%

Over $1,000,000 145 1.4%

Board Area 10,211 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Selling Price Range


2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium

(Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. The ‘Single‐Family’ home type category ranged from 51.4% in the Islands sub‐area to

68.1% in the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area. 66.6% of the home types were ‘Single‐Family’ in the Board

Area.


Type of Home Count %

Single Family 5,902 57.9%

Condominium (Apt) 1,018 10.0%

Condominium (Twnhse) 740 7.2%

Acreage With House 563 5.5%

Single Family (Strata) 485 4.7%

Patio Home 421 4.1%

Single Family (Waterfront) 386 3.8%

Manufactured/Mobile On Pad 338 3.3%

Duplex (Strata) 242 2.4%

Duplex 68 0.7%

Single Family (Modular/Prefab) 22 0.2%

Triplex/Fourplex 14 0.1%

Farm/Ranch 12 0.1%

Board Area 10,211 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 41.3%, ‘Two’ at 25.9%, and ‘Four’ at

18.4%. All sub‐areas exhibited three bedrooms as the highest frequency, ranging from 33.3% in the

Nanaimo sub‐area to 48.7% in the Campbell River sub‐area.


Number of Bedrooms Count %

1 365 3.6%

2 2,641 25.9%

3 4,192 41.3%

4 1,871 18.4%

5 838 8.2%

6 209 2.1%

7 42 0.4%

8 12 0.1%

9 3 0.0%

10 4 0.0%

11 2 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Board Area 10,179 100.0%

Board Area Campbell River Comox ValleyCowichan

ValleyNanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast

North

IslandIslands

Min 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Max 11 8 7 11 10 7 10 11 6

Average 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Median 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bathrooms

The most common number of bathrooms in the Board Area was ‘Two’ at 44.5%, followed by ‘Three’ at

30.7% and ‘One’ at 17.3%. Two bathrooms were the most common in all sub‐areas, ranging from 39.1% in

the Nanaimo sub‐area to 50.6% in the Campbell River and Parksville/Qualicum sub‐areas.


Board AreaCampbell

River

Comox

Valley

Cowichan

ValleyNanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West CoastNorth Island Islands

Min 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Max 9 8 7 9 7 6 7 6 6

Average 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Median 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Number of Bathrooms Count %

1 1,752 17.3%

2 4,499 44.5%

3 3,104 30.7%

4 609 6.0%

5 118 1.2%

6 31 0.3%

7 4 0.0%

8 1 0.0%

9 2 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Board Area 10,120 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Vinyl’ at 32.0%, ‘Wood’ at 21.3%, followed by ‘Hardi Plank’ at 16.9%.

‘Vinyl’ was the most common in four sub‐areas (Campbell River, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo)

ranging from 23.6% in the Cowichan Valley to 43.0% in Naniamo; while ‘Wood’ was the most common in the

other four sub‐areas (Parksville/Qualicum, Port Alberni/West Coast, North Island and Islands); ranging from

27.2% in Parksville/Qualicum to 70.7% the Islands sub‐area.

PLEASE NOTE that only the top 15 descriptions and their frequencies are presented in the table and figure

below. The total number is based on 70 descriptions, with 127 data points or 1.3% excluded for brevity.


Exterior Count %

Vinyl 3,106 32.0%

Wood 2,074 21.3%

Hardi Plank 1,648 16.9%

Stucco 1,165 12.0%

Stucco & Siding 549 5.6%

Aluminum 294 3.0%

Stone Hardi Plank 159 1.6%

Brick & Siding 105 1.1%

Wood Vinyl 78 0.8%

Brick Stucco 66 0.7%

Brick Vinyl 73 0.8%

Stone Vinyl 94 1.0%

Wood Hardi Plank 100 1.0%

Stucco Wood 86 0.9%

Other 127 1.3%

Board Area 9,724 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Board Area were ‘Garage‐Double’ at 49.3%, ‘Carport‐Single’ at 24.4%,

and ‘Garage‐Single’ at 15.6%.

‘Garage‐Double’ was the most common in all sub‐areas except the Port Alberni / West Coast and North

Island sub‐areas where ‘Garage‐Single’ was the most common with 29.8% and 38.4% respectively.


Site Characteristics

The top three site characteristics were ‘View – Mountain’ at 40.7%, ‘View – Ocean’ at 39.0%, and ‘Waterfront

– Ocean’ at 11.3%.

‘View – Ocean’ was the most common among Campbell River, Nanaimo, Parksville/Qualicum, and North

Island sub‐areas (ranging from 44.1% to 64.9%). ‘View – Mountain’ was the most common among the Comox

Valley, Cowichan Valley, and Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐areas (ranging from 43.2% to 61.6%). Finally,

‘Waterfront – Ocean’ was the most common site characteristic in the Islands sub‐area with 57.0%.


Type of Parking Count %

Garage‐Double 3,424 49.3%

Carport‐Single 1,688 24.4%

Garage‐Single 1,079 15.6%

Garage‐3 Or More 276 4.0%

Carport‐Multiple 309 4.5%

Other 149 2.2%

Board Area 6,925 100.0%

Site Characteristics Count %

View ‐ Mountain 1,627 40.7%

View ‐ Ocean 1,558 39.0%

Waterfront ‐ Ocean 452 11.3%

View ‐ Lake 162 4.1%

Waterfront ‐ Lake 100 2.5%

Waterfront ‐ River/Creek 78 2.0%

View ‐ City 15 0.4%

Board Area 3,992 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Board Area – Typical Buyer

This table represents the highest frequency or most common value for each category, illustrating the

‘typical’ Buyer profile for 2016.

Description Mode %

Community MovementNew to this community.

(Less than one year)56.8%

Years Lived in Same Community More than 20 years 38.4%

Years Away From Community 6 to 10 23.1%

Buyer Origin

Elsewhere on Vancouver

Island (other than Victoria or

same town/city)

20.3%

Major Reason for Purchase Your principal residence 81.5%

First Time Purchase of Principal Residence (Yes or

No)No 84.0%

Used RRSP for Downpayment (Yes or No) No 69.9%

Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No) Yes 56.8%

How Buyers First Became Aware of PropertyMy REALTOR® supplied PCS

(Private Client Services)30.2%

How Buyers First Choose a REALTOR®

REALTOR® was

recommended by my family

or a relative

15.1%

Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR®Single Agency – representing

only Buyer 70.5%

Selling Price Range $300,001 to $350,000 13.3%

Home Type Single Family 57.9%

Number of Bedrooms 3 41.3%

Number of Bathrooms 2 44.5%

Exterior Vinyl 32.0%

Parking Garage‐Double 49.3%

Site Characteristics View ‐ Mountain 40.7%

Information Category from Questionnaire Survey

Home Characteristics from corresponding MLS® data base

CAMPBELL RIVER


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 33 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Campbell River Sub‐Area

Campbell River Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers in the Campbell River sub‐area was

to move to a new community with 110 responses 45.7%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same

community’ 107 responses at 44.4%, and thirdly 19 responses 7.9% indicated they were ‘Moving back to the

community’.



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response of 43.7% was

for the category of ‘More than 20 years’. The second highest frequency was 16.1%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’

category.



New to this community. (Less than one year) 110 45.7%





Zone 1 241 100.0%


1 to 2 10 8.9%

3 to 5 15 13.4%

6 to 10 18 16.1%

11 to 15 13 11.6%

16 to 20 7 6.3%


Zone 1 112 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



For those Buyers moving back to a community after having lived elsewhere for some time, the category of

‘More than 20 years’ showed the highest frequency at 26.2% for the Campbell River sub‐area. The second

highest frequency was 21.1%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ and ‘11 to 15 years’ categories.

This is somewhat consistent with 2015, where the second highest frequency was ’11 to 15 years with 21.4%.


1 to 2 1 5.3%

3 to 5 2 10.5%

6 to 10 4 21.1%

11 to 15 4 21.1%

16 to 20 3 15.8%


Zone 1 19 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Campbell River sub‐area (determined

from 129 responses) was ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ with 20.8%, followed by ‘Alberta’ with 15.5%, and

‘Other B.C.’ with 14.0%2.

This varies from 2015 where the top category was ‘Within the same area’ at 43.3%, followed by ‘Elsewhere

on Vancouver Island’ at 14.0%, and ‘Other B.C.’ at 11.2%.

When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 65.9% of the respondents, and those coming

from Vancouver Island totalled 27.0%, a large drop from 2015 where the total from Vancouver Island was

59.4%.



Moved from? Count %

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island

(other than Victoria or same town /

city)

27 20.8%

Alberta 20 15.5%

Other B.C. 18 14.0%

Vancouver 14 10.9%


Sask. / Manitoba 9 7.0%

Ontario 7 5.4%


Gulf Islands 4 3.1%

Within same area 1 0.8%

Other Canada 7 5.4%


Zone 1 129 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Campbell River sub‐area was for ‘Principal

Residence’ with 85.5% of survey respondents choosing this option. The next highest category was

‘Downsizing’ at 10.8%.

These results were consistent with those from the 2015 survey with the exception of ‘Downsizing’ which is a

new option for the 2016 survey.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 16.2% of purchases made in the Campbell River sub‐area.



Your principal residence 206 85.5%

Downsizing 26 10.8%




Other 3 1.2%

Zone 1 241 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 38 16.2%

No 197 83.8%

Zone 1 235 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Campbell River sub‐area is

32.4% signifying that the majority of the ‘First‐time Buyers’ within the Campbell River sub‐area do not use

RRSPs for their down payment.

The use of RRSPs is decreasing year over year. In 2014 37.8% of Campbell River sub‐area respondents used

their RRSP for their down payment, in 2015 was 34.8% and in 2016 32.4% of respondents.


The proportion of respondents buying their home for retirement purposes was 56.4%. This is a slight

decrease from 2015 at 60.8%.


Yes 12 32.4%

No 25 67.6%


Zone 1 38 100.0%


Yes 114 56.4%

No 88 43.6%


Zone 1 235 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 22.4%, and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ at 13.7%.

One notable difference was ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ was added in the 2016 survey

and was the third top choice in 2016. As a matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 31.5% when

added together, making ‘Internet search’ the highest frequency choice for this category.









Open House 6 2.5%





Zone 1 241 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top two ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a

relative’ with 17.4%, followed by ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ with 15.4%.

The top two in 2015 were ‘Previously dealt with REALTOR®’ at 22.3%, followed by ‘REALTOR® was

recommended by co‐worker, associate or friend’ at 15.4%.

It remains consistent with the overall Board Area that REALTORS® depend primarily on referrals, with 37.4%

of REALTOR® business coming from recommendations and 30.0% from a previous relationship.




REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate or friend 26 10.8%






Called the REALTOR® shown on a newspaper or tabloid ad 10 4.2%








Other 17 7.1%

Zone 1 240 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


What form of agency was provided by the REALTOR®

The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only buyer’ at 67.2%.


Agency Form Count %

Single Agency – representing only Buyer 162 67.2%


Don't know 33 13.7%

Zone 1 241 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Campbell River Sub ‐ Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range


Above $1 million, prices were combined.

The top three categories for the Campbell River sub‐area were: $300,001‐$350,000 at 18.8%, $250,001‐

$300,000 at 18.0%, and $200,001‐$250,000 at 14.0%, totalling 50.8% of all sales.

The top three categories for the Campbell River sub‐area in 2015 were concentrated in slightly lower prices

range at $250,001‐ $300,000 at 23.8%, and $300,001‐$350,000 at 16.9%, and $200,001‐$250,000 at 15.4%,

totalling 56.1% of all sales.


$0 to $50,000 14 1.4%

$50,001 to $100,000 20 2.0%

$100,001 to $150,000 80 8.1%

$150,001 to $200,000 78 7.9%

$200,001 to $250,000 139 14.0%

$250,001 to $300,000 179 18.0%

$300,001 to $350,000 186 18.8%

$350,001 to $400,000 90 9.1%

$400,001 to $450,000 101 10.2%

$450,001 to $500,000 40 4.0%

$500,001 to $550,000 26 2.6%

$550,001 to $600,000 7 0.7%

$600,001 to $650,000 9 0.9%

$650,001 to $700,000 6 0.6%

$700,001 to $750,000 3 0.3%

$750,001 to $800,000 1 0.1%

$800,001 to $850,000 2 0.2%

$850,001 to $900,000 2 0.2%

$900,001 to $950,000 4 0.4%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 2 0.2%

Over $1,000,000 3 0.3%

Zone 1 992 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 65.1%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 12.0%, and ‘Patio Home’ at

7.8%.

The Campbell River sub‐area differs from the VIREB Board Area, as ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ was the third

most popular choice for the Board Area versus a ‘Patio Home’. Additionally, 68.9% of homes are single

family in the Campbell River sub‐area which is a 2.3% increase from the Board Area.



Single Family 645 65.1%

Condominium (Apt) 119 12.0%

Patio Home 77 7.8%







Duplex 13 1.3%



Farm/Ranch 1 0.1%

Zone 1 992 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 48.7%, ‘Two’ at 24.2% and ‘Four’ at

15.5%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 50.6%, ‘Three’ at 29.7%, and ‘One’ at

15.8%.



1 18 1.8%

2 240 24.2%

3 482 48.7%

4 153 15.5%

5 79 8.0%

6 15 1.5%

7 1 0.1%

8 2 0.2%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 1 990 100.0%


1 156 15.8%

2 500 50.6%

3 293 29.7%

4 34 3.4%

5 3 0.3%

6 1 0.1%

7 0 0.0%

8 1 0.1%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 1 988 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Vinyl’ at 37.9%, ‘Hardi Plank’ 19.1%, followed by ‘Wood’ at 18.3%.

A slight change from the VIREB Board Area as a whole, whose order of top three Exterior types were: ‘Vinyl’,

‘Wood’ followed by ‘Hardi Plank’.

These results are consistent with those from the 2015 survey.

Exterior Count %

Vinyl 355 37.9%

Hardi Plank 180 19.1%

Wood 172 18.3%

Stucco 66 7.0%


Aluminum 33 3.5%



Stucco Wood 8 0.9%

Wood Vinyl 8 0.9%

Stone Vinyl 5 0.5%

Brick Vinyl 4 0.4%


Brick Stucco 3 0.3%

Other 12 1.3%

Zone 1 940 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Campbell River sub‐area were ‘Garage‐Double’ at 53.2%, ‘Carport‐

Single’ at 28.0%, and ‘Garage‐Single’ 12.0%.



The top three site characteristics were ‘View – Ocean’ at 65.0%, ‘View – Mountain’ at 21.9%, and

‘Waterfront – Ocean’ at 9.6%. These results differ slightly from the VIREB Board Area, as those results were

‘View – Mountain’ at 40.7%, ‘View – Ocean’ at 39.0%, and ‘Waterfront – Ocean’ at 11.3%.



Garage‐Double 388 53.2%

Carport‐Single 205 28.0%

Garage‐Single 88 12.0%



Other 13 1.8%

Zone 1 731 100.0%


View ‐ Ocean 222 65.0%

View ‐ Mountain 75 21.9%






Zone 1 342 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Campbell River Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %




Years Away From Community More than 20 years 26.2%

Buyer Origin



same town / city)

20.8%



No)No 83.8%






REALTOR® was


or a relative

17.4%


only Buyer 67.2%







Site Characteristics View ‐ Ocean 65.0%



COMOX VALLEY


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 49 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Comox Valley Sub‐Area

Comox Valley Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 Comox Valley sub‐area residential property Buyers was to

move to a new community with 231 responses at 53.1%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same

community’ with 157 responses at 36.2%, and thirdly 28 responses at 6.5% indicated they were ‘Moving back

to the community’.



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response at 38.9% to the

question of how long they had lived there was for the category of ‘More than 20 years’. The second highest

frequency was 18.9%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ category.

This is a slight change from 2015 where the ‘3 to 5’ and ‘6 to 10 years’ were tied at 16.1% for the second

category.







Zone 2 434 100.0%


1 to 2 17 9.7%

3 to 5 28 16.0%

6 to 10 33 18.9%

11 to 15 16 9.1%

16 to 20 13 7.4%


Zone 2 175 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘More than 20 years’ and ‘3 to 5 years’ showed the highest frequency at 28.6% each, for the Comox Valley

sub‐area. The second highest frequency was 14.3%, for the ‘1 to 2 years’ and ‘6 to 10 years’ categories.

In 2015, the category of ‘11 to 15 years’ showed the highest frequency at 27.2% for the Comox Valley sub‐

area. The second highest frequency was 24.2%, for the ‘3 to 5 years’ category.


1 to 2 4 14.3%

3 to 5 8 28.6%

6 to 10 4 14.3%

11 to 15 2 7.1%

16 to 20 2 7.1%


Zone 2 28 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Comox Valley sub‐area (determined

from 258 responses) was ‘Vancouver’ at 21.0%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 17.4%, and

‘Other B.C.’ at 14.3%. When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 70.9% of the

respondents, and those coming from Vancouver Island totalled 24.7%.3

In 2015 the top frequencies were ‘Within the same area’ at 36.8%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver

Island’ at 11.3% and ‘Vancouver’ at 10.4%.



Moved from? Count %

Vancouver 54 21.0%



city)

45 17.4%

Other B.C. 37 14.3%

Ontario 27 10.5%


Alberta 23 8.9%




Gulf Islands 3 1.2%

Other Canada 11 4.3%


Zone 2 258 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Comox Valley sub‐area was for ‘Principal



In 2015 the top category was ‘Principal Residence’ with 94.5% of survey respondents choosing this option.

The next highest category was ‘Investment / Rental’ at 2.8%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 14.1% of purchases made in the Comox Valley sub‐area.




Downsizing 53 12.2%




Other 16 3.7%

Zone 2 434 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 59 14.1%

No 358 85.9%

Zone 2 417 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Comox Valley sub‐area was

36.2%.



The proportion of those buying their home for retirement purposes was 55.0%.



Yes 21 36.2%

No 37 63.8%


Zone 2 59 100.0%


Yes 191 55.0%

No 156 45.0%


Zone 2 417 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 31.3%,

‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 22.4%, and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ at 14.1%. As a

matter of interest, the internet choices totalled 28.2% when added together.

In 2015 the top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at

41.2%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 29.1%, and ‘For Sale Sign’ at 6.4%.








Open House 18 4.2%






Zone 2 433 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or

a relative’ at 16.8%, ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 16.6%, followed by ‘REALTOR® was

recommended by co‐worker, associate or friend’ at 13.6%. It remains consistent that REALTORS® depend

primarily on relationship‐based referral with 40.6% of REALTOR® business coming from a referral.

In 2015 there were slight differences as the top three ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were

‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 17.0%, followed by ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker,

associate or friend’ at 16.3%, and thirdly ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative’ at

15.0%.


















Other 28 6.3%

Zone 2 434 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only Buyer at 72.4%.


Agency Form Count %



Don't know 33 7.6%

Zone 2 434 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Comox Valley Sub‐Area – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the Comox Valley were $350,001‐$400,000 at 13.8%, $300,001‐$350,000 at

13.7%, $250,001‐ $300,000 at 13.0%.

In 2015 the top three categories were $300,001‐$350,000 at 18.0%, $250,001‐ $300,000 at 15.3%, and

$350,001‐$400,000 at 12.9%, totalling 46.2% of all sales.


$0 to $50,000 16 0.9%

$50,001 to $100,000 49 2.8%

$100,001 to $150,000 67 3.8%

$150,001 to $200,000 100 5.6%

$200,001 to $250,000 192 10.8%

$250,001 to $300,000 232 13.0%

$300,001 to $350,000 246 13.7%

$350,001 to $400,000 245 13.8%

$400,001 to $450,000 204 11.5%

$450,001 to $500,000 116 6.5%

$500,001 to $550,000 86 4.8%

$550,001 to $600,000 64 3.6%

$600,001 to $650,000 39 2.2%

$650,001 to $700,000 39 2.2%

$700,001 to $750,000 19 1.1%

$750,001 to $800,000 15 0.8%

$800,001 to $850,000 8 0.4%

$850,001 to $900,000 10 0.6%

$900,001 to $950,000 5 0.3%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 10 0.6%

Over $1,000,000 18 1.0%

Zone 2 1,780 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 56.4%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 11.3%, and ‘Condominium

(Twnhse)’ at 9.0%. This varies slightly from the Board Area where the top three home types were ‘Single‐

Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. In the Comox Valley

61.3% of homes are single family.







Patio Home 99 5.6%





Duplex 5 0.3%


Farm/Ranch 2 0.1%


Zone 2 1,780 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms


18.0%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 46.4%, ‘Three’ at 30.9%, and ‘One’ at

17.2%.



1 38 2.1%

2 456 25.7%

3 819 46.0%

4 320 18.0%

5 120 6.8%

6 21 1.2%

7 3 0.2%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 2 1,777 100.0%


1 304 17.2%

2 818 46.4%

3 545 30.9%

4 80 4.5%

5 14 0.8%

6 2 0.1%

7 1 0.1%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 2 1,764 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Vinyl’ at 36.6%, ‘Hardi Plank’ at 21.8% and ‘Wood’ 18.6%.


Exterior Count %

Vinyl 625 36.6%


Wood 316 18.6%

Stucco 121 7.1%


Aluminum 47 2.8%


Stone Vinyl 18 1.1%


Brick Vinyl 15 0.9%

Stucco Wood 11 0.6%

Wood Vinyl 10 0.6%


Brick Stucco 6 0.4%

Other 8 0.5%

Zone 2 1,702 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Comox Valley sub‐area were ‘Garage‐Double’ at 43.8%, ‘Carport‐

Single’ at 32.8%, and ‘Garage‐Single’ 14.1%.



The top three site characteristics were ‘View – Mountain’ at 59.9%, ‘View – Ocean’ at 22.2%, and

‘Waterfront – Ocean’ at 12.0%.








Other 26 2.2%

Zone 2 1,203 100.0%









Zone 2 523 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Comox Valley Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %




Years Away From Community 3 to 5 and More than 20 years 28.6%

Buyer Origin Vancouver 21.0%



No)No 85.9%






REALTOR® was


or a relative

16.8%


only Buyer 72.4%










COWICHAN VALLEY


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 65 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Cowichan Valley Sub‐Area

Cowichan Valley Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern among 2016 Cowichan Valley residential property Buyers was to move

to a new community with 281 responses at 63.4%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same

community’ 114 responses at 25.7%, and thirdly 30 responses at 6.8% indicated they were ‘Moving back to

the community’.



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response at 42.5% to the question of how long they had lived there was for the category of ‘More than 20 years’. The second highest frequency was 18.9%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ category. These results were consistent with those from the 2015 survey.







Zone 3 443 100.0%


1 to 2 13 9.8%

3 to 5 17 12.9%

6 to 10 25 18.9%

11 to 15 13 9.8%

16 to 20 8 6.1%


Zone 3 132 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



For those Buyers moving back to a community after having lived elsewhere for some time, the category ‘6

to 10 years’ showed the highest frequency, at 30.1%, followed by ‘1 to 2 years’ at 23.3% for the Cowichan

Valley.

In 2015 ‘6 to 10 years’ showed the highest frequency, at 45.0%, followed by ‘More than 20 years’ at 25%

for the Cowichan Valley.


1 to 2 7 23.3%

3 to 5 3 10.0%

6 to 10 9 30.1%

11 to 15 3 10.0%

16 to 20 4 13.3%


Zone 3 30 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Cowichan Valley sub‐area (determined

from 312 responses) was ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 22.9%, followed by ‘Greater Victoria’ at 15.1%,

and ‘Vancouver’ at 14.1%. When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 73.7% of the


The 2015 results were ‘Within the same area’ at 28.8%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at

15.3%, and ‘Alberta’ 10.2%.



Moved from? Count %



city)

71 22.9%


Vancouver 44 14.1%

Other B.C. 35 11.3%

Alberta 32 10.3%

Ontario 24 7.7%




Gulf Islands 4 1.3%

Other Canada 4 1.3%


Zone 3 311 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Cowichan Valley sub‐area was for ‘Principal



This is a slight change from 2015 where the second highest category was ‘Recreation / Vacation’,

‘Investment / Rental’, and ‘Other’ all at 1.7%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 17.5% of purchases made in the Cowichan Valley sub‐area.




Downsizing 51 11.5%




Other 6 1.4%

Zone 3 443 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 74 17.5%

No 350 82.5%

Zone 3 424 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Cowichan Valley sub‐area was

34.8%, signifying that most the ‘First‐time Buyers’ within the Cowichan Valley sub‐area do not use RRSPs

for their down payment.

This is a decrease from 2015 where the frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in

the Cowichan Valley sub‐area was 40.6%.





Yes 24 34.8%

No 45 65.2%


Zone 3 74 100.0%


Yes 216 61.7%

No 134 38.3%


Zone 3 424 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ 27.3% and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS)’ at 10.8%. As a matter

of interest, the Internet choices totalled 34.5% when added together, making ‘Internet search’ the highest

frequency choice for this category.

In 2015 the top three were ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 31.1%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ 28.8% and

‘’Internet – other than REALTOR.ca site at 11.2%.









Open House 7 1.6%





Zone 3 443 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top two ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 14.3%,

followed by ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate, or friend’ at 13.8%. It remains

consistent that REALTORS® depend primarily on referrals, with 37.3% of REALTOR® business coming from

recommendations.

These results slightly differ from 2015 where the second top category was ‘REALTOR® was recommended

by family or relative’ at 12.9%.


















Other 33 7.5%

Zone 3 442 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only Buyer’ 72.3%.


Agency Form Count %



Don't know 32 7.2%

Zone 3 443 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Cowichan Valley – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the Cowichan Valley were $350,001 ‐ $400,000 at 15.3%, $300,001‐$350,000

at 12.8%, and $250,001‐ $300,000 at 11.7%, totalling 39.8% of all sales.

In previous years, the selling price range was concentrated lower. In 2014 the top three categories for the

Cowichan Valley were $250,001‐ $300,000 at 14.6%, $350,001 ‐ $400,000 at 13.6% and $300,001‐$350,000

at 13.3% totalling 41.5% of all sales; in 2015 the top three categories were $300,001‐$350,000 at 14.7%,

$250,001‐ $300,000 at 13.7%, and $350,001 ‐ $400,000 at 11.4% totalling 39.8%.


$0 to $50,000 21 1.1%

$50,001 to $100,000 39 2.1%

$100,001 to $150,000 72 3.8%

$150,001 to $200,000 126 6.7%

$200,001 to $250,000 156 8.3%

$250,001 to $300,000 220 11.7%

$300,001 to $350,000 241 12.8%

$350,001 to $400,000 286 15.3%

$400,001 to $450,000 189 10.1%

$450,001 to $500,000 146 7.8%

$500,001 to $550,000 117 6.2%

$550,001 to $600,000 73 3.9%

$600,001 to $650,000 49 2.6%

$650,001 to $700,000 48 2.6%

$700,001 to $750,000 30 1.6%

$750,001 to $800,000 11 0.6%

$800,001 to $850,000 9 0.5%

$850,001 to $900,000 9 0.5%

$900,001 to $950,000 6 0.3%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 6 0.3%

Over $1,000,000 23 1.2%

Zone 3 1,877 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 53.2%, ‘Single Family (Strata)’ at 12.3%, and ‘Acreage with

House’ at 8.0%. This differs from the VIREB Board Area as a whole, whose top three choices were ‘Single‐

Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. 69.7% of homes

sold in Cowichan Valley sub‐area were single family homes.











Patio Home 34 1.8%

Duplex 7 0.4%


Farm/Ranch 3 0.2%


Zone 3 1,877 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms


21.5%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ 41.7%, ‘Three’ at 35.5%, and ‘One’ at

13.7%.



1 44 2.4%

2 432 23.1%

3 802 42.6%

4 403 21.5%

5 150 8.0%

6 33 1.8%

7 5 0.3%

8 1 0.1%

9 0 0.0%

10 1 0.1%

11 1 0.1%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 3 1,872 100.0%


1 254 13.7%

2 776 41.7%

3 660 35.5%

4 124 6.7%

5 38 2.0%

6 6 0.3%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 1 0.1%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 3 1,859 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Vinyl’ at 23.7%, ‘Hardi Plank’ 23.0%, and ‘Wood’ at 18.4%.


Exterior Count %

Vinyl 417 23.7%


Wood 325 18.4%

Stucco 323 18.3%


Aluminum 51 2.9%


Stucco Wood 20 1.1%



Brick Vinyl 11 0.6%

Wood Vinyl 10 0.6%

Brick Stucco 7 0.4%

Stone Vinyl 6 0.3%

Other 26 1.5%

Zone 3 1,768 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking


and ‘Garage‐Single’ 17.5%.




‘View –Lake’ at 11.0%.








Other 26 1.9%

Zone 3 1,362 100.0%









Zone 3 870 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Cowichan Valley Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %





Buyer Origin



same town / city)

22.9%



No)No 82.5%





How Buyers First Choose a REALTOR®Previously dealt with this

REALTOR®14.3%


only Buyer 72.3%










NANAIMO


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 82 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Nanaimo Sub‐Area

Nanaimo Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers in the Nanaimo sub‐area was to

move to a new community with 267 responses at 48.4%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same

community’ with 223 responses at 40.4%, and finally 41 responses at 7.4% indicated they were ‘Moving back

to the community’.



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response was 36.9% for the category of ‘More than 20 years’. The second highest frequency was 16.8%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ category.








Zone 4 552 100.0%


1 to 2 26 10.7%

3 to 5 38 15.6%

6 to 10 41 16.8%

11 to 15 34 13.9%

16 to 20 15 6.1%


Zone 4 244 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘6 to 10 years’ showed the highest frequency at 26.1% for the Nanaimo sub‐area. The second highest

frequency was 16.7% for the ’11 to 15 years’ and ‘More than 20 years’ category.

In 2015 the distribution was slightly different as the second highest category was ’16 to 20 years’ with

16.3%.


1 to 2 5 11.9%

3 to 5 6 14.3%

6 to 10 11 26.1%

11 to 15 7 16.7%

16 to 20 6 14.3%


Zone 4 42 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Nanaimo sub‐area (determined from

307 responses) was ‘Vancouver’ at 24.5%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ with 19.9%, and

‘Alberta’ with 9.4%. When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 72.4% of the


These results varied slightly from 2015 where the top two categories were ‘Within the same area’ at 45.2%,

followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ with 10.9%, and ‘Alberta’ with 9.4%.

5 New for 2016, respondents were only prompted to answer the question “Where are you moving from?” if they selected “Moving back to this community” or

“New to this community” in the previous question. Therefore, interperiod results must be interpreted with caution. For example: look to section C.1.a “Community Movement” in the 2016 report for the equivalent comparison for those moving “within the same area” from 2015.

Moved from? Count %

Vancouver 75 24.5%



city)

61 19.9%

Alberta 29 9.4%


Other B.C. 25 8.1%


Ontario 19 6.2%



Gulf Islands 3 1.0%

Other Canada 9 2.9%


Zone 4 307 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Nanaimo sub‐area was for ‘Principal Residence’

with 81.2% of survey respondents choosing this option. The next highest category was ‘Downsizing’ at

11.2%.

In 2015 the second highest category was ‘Investment / Rental’ at 3.1%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 22.3% of purchases made in the Nanaimo sub‐area.




Downsizing 62 11.2%




Other 14 2.5%

Zone 4 552 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 118 22.3%

No 412 77.7%

Zone 4 530 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Nanaimo sub‐area was 28.2%,

signifying that one third of the ‘First‐time Buyers’ within the Nanaimo sub‐area use RRSPs for their down

payment.

This is an decrease from 2015 where the frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment

in the Nanaimo sub‐area was 41.3%.



This is a decrease from 2015 where those buying their home for retirement purposes was 54.6%.


Yes 31 28.2%

No 79 71.8%


Zone 4 118 100.0%


Yes 204 45.4%

No 245 54.6%


Zone 4 530 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 21.9%, and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS) at 13.0%. As a

matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 31.7% when added together, making ‘Internet Search’ the

second highest frequency choice for this category.

The top three results from 2015 were were ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 36.1%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca

site’ at 26.6%, and ‘For Sale Sign’ at 9.4%.









Open House 11 2.0%





Zone 4 552 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker,

associate, or friend’ at 18.6%, followed by ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative’ at

16.2%, and ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 12.5%. It remains consistent that REALTORS® depend

primarily on referral‐based advertising with 45.6% of REALTOR® business coming from a recommendation.

In 2015 the top three categories were ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 18.2%, followed by

‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate, or friend’ at 12.0%, and ‘REALTOR® was

recommended by my family or a relative’ at 11.8%.


















Other 36 6.5%

Zone 4 551 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only buyer’ at 73.2%.


Agency Form Count %



Don't know 46 8.3%

Zone 4 552 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Nanaimo – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the Nanaimo area were $300,001‐$350,000 at 13.9%, $250,001 to $300,000 at

12.6%, and $350,001‐$400,000 at 12.5%, totalling 39.0% of all sales.

The results were concentrated slightly higher in 2015 with the top three as $300,001‐$350,000 at 16.3%,

$350,001‐$400,000 at 13.5%, and $250,001 to $300,000 at 12.6%, totalling 42.4% of all sales.


$0 to $50,000 17 0.6%

$50,001 to $100,000 76 2.6%

$100,001 to $150,000 111 3.8%

$150,001 to $200,000 179 6.2%

$200,001 to $250,000 255 8.8%

$250,001 to $300,000 365 12.6%

$300,001 to $350,000 398 13.9%

$350,001 to $400,000 362 12.5%

$400,001 to $450,000 293 10.1%

$450,001 to $500,000 210 7.3%

$500,001 to $550,000 172 6.0%

$550,001 to $600,000 112 3.9%

$600,001 to $650,000 93 3.2%

$650,001 to $700,000 65 2.3%

$700,001 to $750,000 55 1.9%

$750,001 to $800,000 27 0.9%

$800,001 to $850,000 13 0.5%

$850,001 to $900,000 24 0.8%

$900,001 to $950,000 8 0.3%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 9 0.3%

Over $1,000,000 44 1.5%

Zone 4 2,888 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 57.6%, ‘Condominium (Apt)‘ at 13.7%, and ‘Condominium

(Twnhse)’ at 9.6%. This is consistent with the VIREB Board Area as a whole, whose top three choices were

‘Single‐Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. 63.4% of

Nanaimo homes were single family homes.









Patio Home 72 2.5%



Duplex 28 1.0%



Farm/Ranch 0 0.0%

Zone 4 2,888 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms


19.9%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 39.2%, ‘Three’ 33.9%, and ‘One’ at

16.7%.



1 111 3.9%

2 750 26.0%

3 961 33.3%

4 574 19.9%

5 352 12.2%

6 98 3.4%

7 26 0.9%

8 6 0.2%

9 2 0.1%

10 2 0.1%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 4 2,882 100.0%


1 477 16.7%

2 1,121 39.2%

3 972 33.9%

4 253 8.8%

5 29 1.0%

6 10 0.3%

7 2 0.1%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 4 2,864 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Vinyl’ at 43.0%, ‘Wood’ at 14.3%, and ‘Stucco’ at 12.0%.


Exterior Count %

Vinyl 1,182 43.0%

Wood 393 14.3%

Stucco 331 12.0%



Aluminum 82 3.0%

Stone Vinyl 61 2.2%


Brick Vinyl 32 1.2%


Stucco Wood 31 1.1%

Wood Vinyl 29 1.1%



Other 51 1.9%

Zone 4 2,747 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking


and ‘Garage‐Single’ 15.3%.




‘Waterfront – Ocean at 6.5%.








Other 42 2.2%

Zone 4 1,924 100.0%









Zone 4 1,175 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Nanaimo Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %








No)No 77.7%


Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No) No 54.6%




REALTOR® was

recommended by co‐worker,

associate or friend

18.6%


only Buyer 73.2%










PARKSVILLE/QUALICUM


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 98 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Parksville/Qualicum Sub‐Area

Parksville/Qualicum Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers of the Parksville /Qualicum sub‐

area was to move to a new community with 283 responses at 71.6%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence

in the same community’ 86 responses at 21.8%, and thirdly 17 responses at 4.3% indicated they were

‘Moving back to the community’.



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response was 30.5% for

the category of ‘6 to 10 years’. The second highest frequency was 22.1%, for the ‘More than 20 years’

category.

In 2015 the highest response was ‘More than 20 years’ with 27.7% followed by ‘6 to 10 years’ with 20.7%.







Zone 5 395 100.0%


1 to 2 5 5.3%

3 to 5 14 14.7%

6 to 10 29 30.5%

11 to 15 13 13.7%

16 to 20 13 13.7%


Zone 5 95 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




’11 to 15 years’ showed the highest frequency at 35.3% for the Parksville / Qualicum sub‐area. The second

highest frequency was 23.5%, for the ‘3 to 5 years’ category.

Due to smaller sample size, there is an increased likelihood of Interperiod fluctuations. In 2015 the category

of ‘More than 20 years’ showed the highest frequency at 47.0% for the Parksville / Qualicum sub‐area. The

second highest frequency was 17.6%, for the ‘1 to 2 years’ category.


1 to 2 1 5.9%

3 to 5 4 23.5%

6 to 10 2 11.8%

11 to 15 6 35.3%

16 to 20 1 5.9%


Zone 5 17 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area

(determined from 299 responses) was ‘Vancouver’ with 24.5%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver

Island’ with 18.7%, then by ‘Other B.C.’ with 14.0%. When aggregated, all Buyers originating from within

B.C. totalled 78.3% of the respondents, and those coming from Vancouver Island totalled 27.4%.6

In 2015 the top three categories were, ‘Within the same area’ with 24.4%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on

Vancouver Island’ with 21.5%, then by ‘Alberta’ with 11.3%.



Moved from? Count %

Vancouver 73 24.5%



city)

56 18.7%

Other B.C. 42 14.0%

Alberta 34 11.4%



Ontario 17 5.7%

Gulf Islands 5 1.7%



Other Canada 3 1.0%


Zone 5 299 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area was for ‘Principal



The top two responses in 2015 were, ‘Principal Residence’ with 95.8% and ‘Recreation / Vacation’ and

‘Other’ at 1.4%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 8.4% of purchases made in the Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area, this is one

lowest percentage of ‘First‐time Buyers’ in the Board Area.




Downsizing 49 12.4%




Other 7 1.8%

Zone 5 395 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 32 8.4%

No 350 91.6%

Zone 5 382 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area

was 20.0%.

This is a decrease of 22.9% from 2015 where the frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down

payment was 42.9%.


The proportion of those buying their home for retirement purposes was 68.4%. Parksville/Qualicum has

one of the highest retirement home percentages within the VIREB Board Area.



Yes 6 20.0%

No 24 80.0%


Zone 5 32 100.0%


Yes 227 68.4%

No 105 31.6%


Zone 5 382 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report




‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 20.5%, and ‘Internet – searched on website other than REALTOR.ca’ at 11.6%.

As a matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 32.1% when added together, making ‘Internet Search’

the tied for the highest frequency choice for this category.

In 2015 the top three options were ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 41.0%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at

16.5%, and ‘Contacted a Real Estate office’ at 10.2%.









Open House 9 2.3%





Zone 5 395 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by family or a relative’

at 13.7%, followed by ‘REALTOR® was recommended/referred by another REALTOR®’ at 12.9%, and

‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate or friend’ and ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’

both at 12.7%. It remains consistent that REALTORS® depend primarily on referral‐based advertising with

39.6% of REALTOR® business coming from a recommendation.

In 2015 the top three were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate or friend’ at 15.2%,

followed by ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 12.4%, then ‘REALTOR® is a friend or co‐worker’ at

10.7%.


















Other 39 9.9%

Zone 5 394 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only Buyer’ at 70.9%.


Agency Form Count %



Don't know 34 8.6%

Zone 5 395 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parksville/Qualicum – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the Parksville/Qualicum were $300,001‐$350,000 at 12.1%, followed by

$350,000‐$400,001 at 12.0%, and $400,001‐$450,000 at 9.8%, totalling 33.9% of all sales.

The top three results in 2015 were were $300,001‐$350,000 at 15.2%, $350,000‐$400,001 at 14.5%, and

$250,000‐$300,001 at 11.8%, totalling 41.5% of all sales.


$0 to $50,000 20 1.3%

$50,001 to $100,000 31 2.0%

$100,001 to $150,000 43 2.7%

$150,001 to $200,000 77 4.9%

$200,001 to $250,000 81 5.2%

$250,001 to $300,000 119 7.6%

$300,001 to $350,000 190 12.1%

$350,001 to $400,000 189 12.0%

$400,001 to $450,000 153 9.8%

$450,001 to $500,000 145 9.3%

$500,001 to $550,000 117 7.5%

$550,001 to $600,000 103 6.6%

$600,001 to $650,000 69 4.4%

$650,001 to $700,000 51 3.3%

$700,001 to $750,000 22 1.4%

$750,001 to $800,000 33 2.1%

$800,001 to $850,000 20 1.3%

$850,001 to $900,000 34 2.2%

$900,001 to $950,000 11 0.7%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 12 0.8%

Over $1,000,000 44 2.8%

Zone 5 1,564 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 57.5%, ‘Patio Home’ at 8.3%, and ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at

7.4%. This differs with the VIREB Board Area as a whole, whose top three choices were ‘Single‐Family’ at

57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. 68.8% of Nanaimo homes

were single family homes.

The categories were consistent with 2015 except for the third category which was ‘Acreage with House’ at

8.3%.



Patio Home 130 8.3%








Farm/Ranch 3 0.2%

Duplex 2 0.1%



Zone 5 1,564 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms


12.3%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ 50.6%, ‘Three’ at 26.4%, and ‘One’ at

15.7%.


Number of

BedroomsCount %

1 66 4.2%

2 495 31.8%

3 719 46.1%

4 192 12.3%

5 62 4.0%

6 20 1.3%

7 5 0.3%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 5 1,559 100.0%

Number of

BathroomsCount %

1 244 15.7%

2 785 50.6%

3 409 26.4%

4 83 5.3%

5 25 1.6%

6 5 0.3%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 1 0.1%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 5 1,552 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Wood’ at 27.3%, ‘Hardi Plank’ 22.6%, and ‘Vinyl’ 19.8%.

In 2015 the top three categories were ‘Wood’ at 29.6%, ‘Vinyl’ 19.9%, and ‘Hardi Plank’ 19.4%.

Exterior Count %

Wood 409 27.3%


Vinyl 297 19.8%

Stucco 203 13.5%


Aluminum 39 2.6%





Brick Vinyl 9 0.6%

Stucco Wood 9 0.6%

Wood Vinyl 3 0.2%

Stone Vinyl 1 0.1%

Other 11 0.7%

Zone 5 1,501 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Parksville/Qualicum were ‘Garage‐Double’ at 59.2%, ‘Carport‐Single’

at 19.5%, and ‘Garage‐Single’ at 9.5%.




‘Waterfront – Ocean at 26.2%.








Other 21 1.9%

Zone 5 1,128 100.0%









Zone 5 455 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parksville/Qualicum Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %



Years Lived in Same Community 6 to 10 30.5%





No)No 91.6%






REALTOR® was


or a relative

13.7%


only Buyer 70.9%





Exterior Wood 27.3%





PORT ALBERNI/WEST COAST


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 114 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Port Alberni/West Coast Sub‐Area

Port Alberni/West Coast Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers of the Port Alberni /West Coast

sub‐area was to move to a new community with 43 responses 47.8%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence

in the same community’ with 31 responses 34.4%, and thirdly 9 responses at 10.0% indicated they were

‘Moving back to the community’.




the category of ‘More than 20 years’. The second highest frequency was 13.9%, for both the ‘6 to 10 years’

and ’16 to 20 years’ categories.

In 2015 the second highest frequency was 13.0%, for the ‘3 to 5 years’ category.







Zone 6 90 100.0%


1 to 2 0 0.0%

3 to 5 1 2.8%

6 to 10 5 13.9%

11 to 15 2 5.6%

16 to 20 5 13.9%


Zone 6 36 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



For those Buyers moving back to a community after having lived elsewhere for some time, the categories of

‘More than 20 years’ and ‘6 to 10 years’ showed the highest frequency at 33.3% for the Port Alberni / West

Coast sub areas. The second highest frequency was 22.3%, for the ‘3 to 5 years’ category.

In 2015 ‘More than 20 years’ showed the highest frequency at 42.8% for the Port Alberni / West Coast sub

areas. The second highest frequency was 28.6%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ category.

**sample too small, not a representative sample**


1 to 2 0 0.0%

3 to 5 2 22.3%

6 to 10 3 33.3%

11 to 15 1 11.1%

16 to 20 0 0.0%


Zone 6 9 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area

(determined from 52 responses) was ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 29.0%, ‘Other B.C.’ at 19.2%, and

‘Greater Victoria’ at 13.5%. When aggregated, all Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 84.7% of the


In 2015 the top three categories were ‘Within the same area’ at 42.8%, followed by ‘Elsewhere on

Vancouver Island’ at 19.6%, and ‘Other B.C.’ at 10.7%.



Moved from? Count %



city)

15 29.0%

Other B.C. 10 19.2%


Vancouver 6 11.5%


Ontario 3 5.8%

Alberta 2 3.8%



Gulf Islands 1 1.9%

Other Canada 0 0.0%


Zone 6 52 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area was for

‘Principal Residence’ with 74.4% of survey respondents choosing this option. The next highest category

was ‘Downsizing’ at 13.3%.

In 2015 the top categories were ‘Principal Residence’ with 91.0% followed by ‘Recreation / Vacation’ and

‘Other’ at 3.6%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 17.9% of purchases made in the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area.

This is a large decrease from last year where 34.0% of respondents indicated they were first time buyers.



Downsizing 12 13.3%




Other 5 5.6%

Zone 6 90 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 15 17.9%

No 69 82.1%

Zone 6 84 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐

area was 20.0%, signifying that the majority of the people within the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area do

not use RRSPs for their down payment.




This is a decrease from 54.8% last year.


Yes 3 20.0%

No 12 80.0%


Zone 6 15 100.0%


Yes 34 50.0%

No 34 50.0%


Zone 6 84 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘Internet – searched on REALTOR.ca’ at

22.3%, and ‘Internet‐ searched on website other than REALTOR.ca site’ at 20.0%, and ’REALTOR® supplied

PCS’ at 14.4%. As a matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 42.3% when added together.

In 2015 the top three options were My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 39.1%, and ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’

at 17.9%, and ’Contacted a Real Estate Office’ at 16.1%.










Open House 0 0.0%




Zone 6 90 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were and ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at

20.1%, followed by ‘Internet – REALTOR® was the agent on listed property’ and ‘REALTOR® is a friend or co‐

worker’ with at 12.2% each. 23.3% of REALTOR® referrals come from a previous relationship in the Port

Alberni / West Coast sub‐area.

In 2015 the top three categories were ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative’ at 14.3%,

followed by ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate, or friend’ and ‘Previously dealt with

this REALTOR®’ at 12.5%.


















Other 7 7.8%

Zone 6 90 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency – representing only Buyer’ at 57.3%.

This is an increase from last year where 50.0% of Buyers used ‘Single Agency – representing only Buyer’.

Agency Form Count %



Don't know 7 7.9%

Zone 6 89 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Port Alberni/West Coast – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the Port Alberni/West Coast sub‐area were $150,001‐ $200,000 at 19.2%,

$200,001‐$250,000 at 19.0%, and $100,001‐$150,000 at 13.7%.



$0 to $50,000 9 1.4%

$50,001 to $100,000 37 5.7%

$100,001 to $150,000 89 13.7%

$150,001 to $200,000 125 19.2%

$200,001 to $250,000 123 19.0%

$250,001 to $300,000 70 10.8%

$300,001 to $350,000 53 8.2%

$350,001 to $400,000 38 5.9%

$400,001 to $450,000 27 4.2%

$450,001 to $500,000 13 2.0%

$500,001 to $550,000 9 1.4%

$550,001 to $600,000 14 2.2%

$600,001 to $650,000 10 1.5%

$650,001 to $700,000 10 1.5%

$700,001 to $750,000 1 0.2%

$750,001 to $800,000 2 0.3%

$800,001 to $850,000 5 0.8%

$850,001 to $900,000 2 0.3%

$900,001 to $950,000 4 0.6%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 1 0.2%

Over $1,000,000 6 0.9%

Zone 6 648 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single‐Family’ at 68.2%, ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.7%, and

‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 6.3%. This varies with the VIREB Board Area as a whole, whose top three choices

were ‘Single‐Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. 75.9%

of Port Alberni / West Coast homes were single family homes.

In 2015 the top three home types were slightly different with ‘Single‐Family’ at 71.3%, ‘Manufactured /

Mobile on Pad’ at 6.1%, and ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 5.0%.









Duplex 10 1.5%

Patio Home 9 1.4%




Farm/Ranch 0 0.0%

Zone 6 648 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 35.9%, ‘Four’ at 22.8%, and ‘Two’ at

21.4%.

This is a slight change from last year where the top three number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 41.5%, ‘Two’

25.1%, and ‘Four’ at 20.0%.

Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 44.9%, ‘One’ at 27.7%, and ‘Three’ at

21.6%.


Number of

BedroomsCount %

1 48 7.5%

2 138 21.4%

3 232 35.9%

4 147 22.8%

5 58 9.0%

6 14 2.2%

7 2 0.3%

8 3 0.5%

9 1 0.2%

10 1 0.2%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 6 644 100.0%

Number of

BathroomsCount %

1 179 27.7%

2 291 44.9%

3 140 21.6%

4 25 3.9%

5 7 1.1%

6 4 0.6%

7 1 0.2%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 6 647 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Wood’ at 31.8%, ‘Vinyl’ at 22.1% and ‘Stucco’ at 16.3%.


Exterior Count %

Wood 196 31.8%

Vinyl 137 22.1%

Stucco 101 16.3%


Hardi Plank 42 6.8%

Aluminum 25 4.0%


Wood Vinyl 12 1.9%



Brick Stucco 5 0.8%

Stucco Wood 3 0.5%

Stone Vinyl 2 0.3%

Brick Vinyl 0 0.0%

Other 10 1.6%

Zone 6 619 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Port Alberni/West Coast were ‘Garage‐Single’ at 29.8%, followed by

‘Garage‐Double’ at 29.5%, and ‘Carport‐Single’ at 26.1%.

In 2015 ‘Garage‐Double’ was the highest category with 29.7%, followed by ‘Carport‐Single’ at 28.7% and

‘Garage‐Single’ at 26.5%.











Other 15 3.9%

Zone 6 383 100.0%









Zone 6 401 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Port Alberni/West Coast Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %




Years Away From Community6 to 10 and More than 20

years33.3%

Buyer Origin



same town / city)

29.0%



No)No 82.1%


Purchased as Retirement Home (Yes or No) Yes and No 50.0%

How Buyers First Became Aware of PropertyInternet ‐ searched on

REALTOR.ca22.3%


REALTOR®20.1%


only Buyer 57.3%





Exterior Wood 31.8%

Parking Garage‐Single 29.8%




NORTH ISLAND


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 130 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board North Island Sub‐Area

Readers are encouraged to treat the statistics in this section of the report with caution. Statistics based

on fewer observations are typically omitted from reports for reasons of confidentiality, and the resulting

data is usually considered unreliable due to the small sample size. In the North Island sub‐area, there

were only sixteen who responded to the Buyers' Survey, and accordingly the results in this zone can only

be said to represent the circumstances of those sixteen individual buyers, and not the zone in general.


2016 Buyer Report


North Island Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers of the North Island sub‐area was to

move to a new community with 10 responses at 62.4%, followed by ‘Moving back to the community’ with

18.8%.

Due to the small sample size, there were larger interperiod changes. In 2015 the highest category was move

to a new community with 78.6%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence in the same community’ at ’21.4%’.



the category of ’11 to 15 years’. The second highest frequency was 33.3%, for ‘1 to 2 years’.

In 2015 there were no respondents who indicated they were moving within the same community.







Zone 7 16 100.0%


1 to 2 1 33.3%

3 to 5 0 0.0%

6 to 10 0 0.0%

11 to 15 2 66.7%

16 to 20 0 0.0%


Zone 7 3 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



There were only three respondents who indicated they were moving back to a community after having

lived elsewhere for some time. One person indicated they were away from the community for each of the

following categories: ‘1 to 2 years’, ‘6 to 10 years’ and ‘More than 20 years’.

There were also only three respondents last year, two people indicated they were away from the

community for ‘6 to 10 years’ and one for ’11 to 15 years’.


1 to 2 1 33.3%

3 to 5 0 0.0%

6 to 10 1 33.3%

11 to 15 0 0.0%

16 to 20 0 0.0%


Zone 7 3 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the North Island sub‐area (determined from

12 responses) was ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 50.0%, followed by ‘Ontario’ and ‘Greater Victoria’

both at 16.7%. The total from B.C. is 75.0% and the total from Vancouver Island is 66.7%.8

In 2015 the top three were, ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ at 50.1%, followed by ‘Alberta’ and ‘Other

Canada’ at 14.3%.



Moved from? Count %



city)

6 50.0%

Ontario 2 16.7%


Alberta 1 8.3%

Vancouver 1 8.3%


Other B.C. 0 0.0%



Gulf Islands 0 0.0%

Other Canada 0 0.0%


Zone 7 12 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the North Island sub‐area was for ‘Principal

Residence’ with 81.2% of survey respondents choosing this option, 12.5% selecting ‘Downsizing’, and 6.3%

selected ‘Investment / rental home’.

In 2015 100.0% selected ‘Principal Residence’.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 6.7% of purchases made in the North Island sub‐area.

This is a decrease from 2015 where the total of ‘first‐time Buyers’ was 28.6% and four responses.



Downsizing 2 12.5%




Other 0 0.0%

Zone 7 16 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 1 6.7%

No 14 93.3%

Zone 7 15 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



There was only one response for this question in the North Island sub‐area, and that respondent did not

use their RRSP for a down payment.

In 2015 the frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the North Island sub‐area

was 50.0%.



In 2015 the proportion of those buying their home for retirement purposes was 45.5%.


Yes 0 0.0%

No 1 100.0%


Zone 7 1 100.0%


Yes 9 75.0%

No 3 25.0%


Zone 7 15 100.0%

100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘Internet‐ other than REALTOR.ca site’

at 37.4%, ‘Saw a FOR SALE sign on property’ at 25.0%, and ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 18.8%. As a

matter of interest, the Internet choices totalled 49.9% when added together, making ‘Internet Search’ the

highest frequency choice for this category.

In 2015 the top three categories were more internet focused with ‘Internet‐ other than REALTOR.ca site’ at

42.9%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 28.6%, and ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS’ at 21.4%.










Open House 0 0.0%




Zone 7 16 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ at 37.4%,

followed by ‘’Internet‐REALTOR® was the agent on listed property’, ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐

worker, associate, or friend’, ‘REALTOR® is a friend or co‐worker’, and REALTOR® was recommended by a

family or relative’ all at 12.5%. In the North Island sub‐area REALTORS® depend primarily previous

relationships with 49.9% of REALTOR® business coming from previous relationships.

In 2015 the most common method respondents chose their REALTOR® was ‘Internet ‐ REALTOR® was the

agent listed on property’ and ‘Other’ both at 21.4%


















Other 0 0.0%

Zone 7 16 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers in the North Island sub‐area was ‘Dual Agency –

representing the Buyer and seller’ with 50.0%.

This differs from last year where 57.1% selected ‘Single Agency’.

Agency Form Count %



Don't know 2 12.5%

Zone 7 16 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


North Island – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range



The top three categories for the North Island were $150,001‐$200,000 at 21.1%, $100,001 to $150,000 at

20.1%, and $50,001‐$100,000 at 17.4%, totalling 58.6% of all sales.

In 2015 the sales prices were concentrated lower as the top three categories for the North Island were

$50,001‐$100,000 at 21.1%, $0‐$50,000 at 19.0%, and $100,001 to $150,000 at 17.7% totalling 57.8% of all

sales


$0 to $50,000 30 16.3%

$50,001 to $100,000 32 17.4%

$100,001 to $150,000 37 20.1%

$150,001 to $200,000 39 21.1%

$200,001 to $250,000 15 8.2%

$250,001 to $300,000 14 7.6%

$300,001 to $350,000 6 3.3%

$350,001 to $400,000 6 3.3%

$400,001 to $450,000 2 1.1%

$450,001 to $500,000 2 1.1%

$500,001 to $550,000 1 0.5%

$550,001 to $600,000 0 0.0%

$600,001 to $650,000 0 0.0%

$650,001 to $700,000 0 0.0%

$700,001 to $750,000 0 0.0%

$750,001 to $800,000 0 0.0%

$800,001 to $850,000 0 0.0%

$850,001 to $900,000 0 0.0%

$900,001 to $950,000 0 0.0%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 0 0.0%

Over $1,000,000 0 0.0%

Zone 7 184 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single Family’ at 60.0%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 11.4%, and ‘Single Family

(Waterfront)’ at 9.2%. This varies slightly from the Board Area where the top three home types were

‘Single‐Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at 7.2%. 71.4% of

homes in the North Island are considered single family homes.

In 2015 the results were similar except the third highest option was and ‘Acreage with House’ at 6.8%.










Duplex 3 1.6%

Farm/Ranch 1 0.5%



Patio Home 0 0.0%

Zone 7 184 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 41.9%, ‘Four’ at 26.9%, and ‘Two’ at

18.1%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 48.0%, ‘One’ at 29.8%, and ‘Three’ at

19.9%.

The results in 2015 were ‘Two’ at 48.6%, ‘Three’ at 24.0%, and ‘One’ at 23.3%.

Number of

BedroomsCount %

1 6 3.3%

2 33 18.1%

3 76 41.9%

4 49 26.9%

5 11 6.0%

6 6 3.3%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 1 0.5%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 7 182 100.0%

Number of

BathroomsCount %

1 54 29.8%

2 87 48.0%

3 36 19.9%

4 3 1.7%

5 0 0.0%

6 1 0.6%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Zone 7 181 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Wood’ at 40.4%, ‘Vinyl’ 32.8%, and ‘Aluminum’ at 6.8%.


Exterior Count %

Wood 72 40.4%

Vinyl 58 32.8%

Aluminum 12 6.8%


Stucco 8 4.5%

Wood Vinyl 6 3.4%

Hardi Plank 4 2.3%

Stucco Wood 3 1.7%



Brick Vinyl 1 0.6%

Stone Vinyl 1 0.6%

Brick Stucco 0 0.0%


Other 1 0.6%

Zone 7 177 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the North Island sub‐area were ‘Garage‐Single’ at 38.3%, ‘Carport‐Single’

at 28.3%, and ‘Garage‐Double’ at 25.3%.

In 2015 the top three were ‘Garage‐Single’ at 45.2%, ‘Garage‐Double’ at 23.2%, and ‘Carport‐Single’ at

22.1%.











Other 5 5.1%

Zone 7 99 100.0%









Zone 7 102 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


North Island Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer



Description Mode %

Community MovementNew to this community. (Less

than one year)62.4%

Years Lived in Same Community 11 to 15 66.7%

Years Away From Community1 to 2, 6 to 10, and More than 20

years33.3%

Buyer Origin


(other than Victoria or same

town / city)

50.0%



No)No 93.3%



How Buyers First Became Aware of PropertyInternet ‐ searched on

REALTOR.ca37.4%


REALTOR®37.4%

Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR®Dual Agency – representing

both Buyer and Seller 50.0%





Exterior Wood 40.4%

Parking Garage‐Single 38.3%




ISLANDS Cormorant Island

DeCourcey Island

Denman Island

Discovery Islands: Quadra, Cortez, Hernando, Read, Maurelle, Sonora, East Thurlow, West Thurlow, Stuart, East Redonda, West Redonda, Rendezous

Gabriola Island

Galiano Island

Hornby Island

Jedediah Island

Kuper Island

Lasqueti Island

Mayne Island

Malcolm Island

Mudge Island

Newcastle Island

Pender Islands

North/South

Protection Island

Prevost Island

Ruxton Island

Saltspring Island

Saturna Island

Stubbs Island

Savary Island

Texada Island

Thetis Island


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 146 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Islands Sub‐Area

Islands Sub ‐ Area – Information from Questionnaire Survey

Community Movement

The most common migration pattern of 2016 residential property Buyers of the Islands sub‐area

was ‘New to the community’ with 32 responses at 76.2%, followed by ‘Moving to a new residence

in the same community’ with seven responses at 16.7% and thirdly three responses indicated they

were ‘Not moving, but purchasing an additional residence in a different community’ with 7.1%.

In 2015 the top responses were, ‘New to the community’ with 17 responses at 70.8%, followed by

‘Moving to a new residence in the same community’ seven responses at 29.2%.







Islands 42 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



For those respondents moving within the same community, the highest frequency response was

30.0% for the categories of ‘3 to 5 years’ and ‘More than 20 years’. The next highest frequency was

20.0%, for the ‘6 to 10 years’ category.

In 2015 the highest category was ‘6 to 10 years’ at 42.8%, followed by 28.6% for the ‘3 to 5 years’

and ’16 to 20 years’ categories.


There were zero respondents who indicated they were moving back to a community after having

lived elsewhere for some time.


1 to 2 0 0.0%

3 to 5 3 30.0%

6 to 10 2 20.0%

11 to 15 1 10.0%

16 to 20 1 10.0%


Islands 10 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin

For Buyers of residential property, the primary Buyer origin for the Islands sub‐area (determined

from 32 responses) were ‘Vancouver’, ‘Other B.C.’, and ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ all at

15.6%. When aggregated, Buyers originating from within B.C. totalled 65.6%, and those coming

from Vancouver Island totalled 25.0 %.9

In 2015 there were more respondents from ‘Alberta’ and the top three categories consisted of

‘Within the same area’ at 24.9%, followed by ‘Vancouver’ at 20.8%, and ‘Alberta’ and ‘Ontario’ at

16.7%.

9 New for 2016, respondents were only prompted to answer the question “Where are you moving from?” if they selected “Moving

back to this community” or “New to this community” in the previous question. Therefore, interperiod results must be interpreted with caution. For example: look to section C.1.a “Community Movement” in the 2016 report for the equivalent comparison for those moving “within the same area” from 2015.

Moved from? Count %

Vancouver 5 15.6%

Other B.C. 5 15.6%



city)

5 15.6%

Alberta 4 12.4%

Ontario 3 9.4%




Gulf Islands 1 3.1%


Other Canada 2 6.3%


Islands 32 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The major reason for residential property purchase in the Islands sub‐area was for ‘Principal

Residence’ with 78.6% of survey respondents choosing this option. The next highest categories

were ‘Downsizing’ and ‘Recreation / Vacation’ at 9.5% each.

In 2015 the top two categories were ‘Principal Residence’ with 83.3% followed by ‘Recreation /

Vacation’ at 12.5%.


‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for only 5.3% of purchases made in the Islands sub‐area.

This is a decrease from last year where ‘First‐time Buyers’ accounted for 19.0% of purchases.



Downsizing 4 9.5%




Other 1 2.4%

Islands 42 100.0%

First Home? Count %

Yes 2 5.3%

No 36 94.7%

Islands 38 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The frequency of ‘First‐time Buyers’ using RRSPs for a down payment in the Islands sub‐area was

0.0%.

This is a decrease from last year where 25.0% of respondents used a RRSP for their down payment.

**sample too small, not a representative sample**





Yes 0 0.0%

No 2 100.0%


Islands 2 100.0%


Yes 21 70.0%

No 9 30.0%


Islands 38 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top three ways that Buyers became aware of the property were ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’

and ‘My REALTOR® contacted me’ both at 19.0%, and ‘Internet – searched on website other than

REALTOR.ca’ at 16.7%.

In 2015 there was less focus on the internet options, the top three categories were ‘My REALTOR®

supplied PCS’ at 41.7%, ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ at 29.2%, and ‘Contacted a Real Estate office’ at

12.5%.










Open House 0 0.0%




Islands 42 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The top ways that Buyers chose their REALTOR® were by ‘Other’ with 21.5%, followed by

‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ and ‘REALTOR® was recommended by my family or a relative’

both at 14.3%. REALTORS® in the Islands sub‐area depend primarily on referrals with 30.9% of

REALTOR® business coming from a recommendation from a previous relationship.

In 2015 the top sources of choosing a REALTOR® were by ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’ and

‘Internet‐REALTOR® was the agent listed on the property’ both at 20.8%, followed by ‘Called the

REALTOR® shown on For Sale sign on property’ at 12.6%.


















Other 9 21.5%

Islands 42 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



The most common form of agency used by Buyers was ‘Single Agency ‐ representing only Buyer’ at

52.4%.


Agency Form Count %



Don't know 1 2.4%

Islands 42 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Islands – Home characteristics from MLS ® data

Selling Price Range

For ease of interpretation, home selling prices were categorized into $50,000 increments up to $1

million. Above $1 million, prices were combined.

The top three categories for the Islands sub‐area were $350,001 to $400,000 at 14.1%, $300,001 to

$350,000 at 12.2%, followed by $250,001 to $300,000 at 11.9%, totalling 38.2%.

In 2015 the top three categories for the Islands sub‐area were $200,001‐$250,000 at 15.6%,

$250,001 to $300,000 and $300,001‐$350 at 14.1% totalling 43.8% of all sales.


$0 to $50,000 0 0.0%

$50,001 to $100,000 9 3.2%

$100,001 to $150,000 6 2.2%

$150,001 to $200,000 23 8.3%

$200,001 to $250,000 21 7.6%

$250,001 to $300,000 33 11.9%

$300,001 to $350,000 34 12.2%

$350,001 to $400,000 39 14.1%

$400,001 to $450,000 30 10.8%

$450,001 to $500,000 19 6.8%

$500,001 to $550,000 5 1.8%

$550,001 to $600,000 11 4.0%

$600,001 to $650,000 14 5.0%

$650,001 to $700,000 9 3.2%

$700,001 to $750,000 7 2.5%

$750,001 to $800,000 4 1.4%

$800,001 to $850,000 2 0.7%

$850,001 to $900,000 1 0.4%

$900,001 to $950,000 2 0.7%

$950,001 to $1,000,000 2 0.7%

Over $1,000,000 7 2.5%

Islands 278 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Home Type

The top three home types were ‘Single Family’ at 51.4%, ‘Acreage with House’ at 31.3%, and ‘Single

Family (Waterfront)’ at 15.1%. This varies from the Board Area where the top three home types

were ‘Single Family’ at 57.9%, ‘Condominium (Apt)’ at 10.0%, and ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’ at

7.2%.

66.9% of homes are single family in the Islands sub‐area, and interestingly only 1.1% are

multifamily.







Farm/Ranch 2 0.7%





Patio Home 0 0.0%

Duplex 0 0.0%



Islands 278 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bedrooms were ‘Three’ at 37.0%, ‘Two’ at 35.5%, and

‘One’ at 12.5%.


Number of Bathrooms

The top three frequencies for number of bathrooms were ‘Two’ at 45.6%, ‘One’ at 31.7%, and

‘Three’ at 18.5%.


Number of

BedroomsCount %

1 34 12.5%

2 97 35.5%

3 101 37.0%

4 33 12.1%

5 6 2.2%

6 2 0.7%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Islands 273 100.0%

Number of

BathroomsCount %

1 84 31.7%

2 121 45.6%

3 49 18.5%

4 7 2.6%

5 2 0.8%

6 2 0.8%

7 0 0.0%

8 0 0.0%

9 0 0.0%

10 0 0.0%

11 0 0.0%

12 0 0.0%

13 0 0.0%

Islands 265 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior

The top three house exterior types were ‘Wood’ at 70.6%, ‘Vinyl’ 13.0% and ‘Stucco’ at 4.4%.

These results were consistent with the 2015 survey.

Exterior Count %

Wood 191 70.6%

Vinyl 35 13.0%

Stucco 12 4.4%

Hardi Plank 8 3.0%


Aluminum 5 1.9%



Stucco Wood 1 0.4%

Brick Vinyl 1 0.4%

Wood Vinyl 0 0.0%

Brick Stucco 0 0.0%


Stone Vinyl 0 0.0%

Other 8 3.0%

Islands 270 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Parking

The top three parking features in the Islands sub‐area were ‘Garage‐Double’ at 35.7%, ‘Garage‐

Single’ at 31.6%, and ‘Carport‐Single’ at 20.0%.

The top three categories in 2015 were ‘Garage‐Single’ at 42.8%, ‘Garage‐Double’ at 23.8%, and

‘Carport‐Single’ at 17.5%.


The top three site characteristics were ‘Waterfront – Ocean’ at 54.0%, ‘View –Ocean’ at 37.1%, and

‘View – Mountain’ at 7.3%.








Other 1 1.1%

Islands 95 100.0%









Islands 124 100.0%


2016 Buyer Report


Islands Sub‐Area – Typical Buyer

This table represents the highest frequency or most common value for each category,

illustrating the ‘typical’ Buyer profile for 2016.

Description Mode %



Years Lived in Same Community 3 to 5 and More than 20 years 30.0%

Years Away From Community n/a n/a

Buyer Origin

Vancouver and Other B.C.

and Elsewhere on Vancouver

Island

15.6%



No)No 94.7%




Internet ‐ searched on

REALTOR.ca and My

REALTOR® contacted me

19.0%

How Buyers First Choose a REALTOR® Other 21.5%


only Buyer 52.4%





Exterior Wood 70.6%


Site Characteristics Waterfront ‐ Ocean 54.0%




2016 Buyer Report

2014 - 2016 Data Comparisons


2016 Buyer Report

2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 162 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Data Comparisons

Survey Data Comparisons from 2014 ‐2016

Questionnaire Survey Data analyzed in the past three Buyer Profiles are summarized in the following

table:

Overall, the total questionnaire response rate for the entire Board Area has been very similar for the

past three years, ranging from 20.9% to 21.7%. When comparing among the various areas, we see slight‐

up‐and‐down variations in year‐to‐year responses (see figure below), which is to be expected since the

data records are much smaller in number for each area compared to the entire Board Area.

For all three years there were a few consistent patterns in survey responses rates, namely:

The Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area had the highest survey response (three‐year average is 26.1%

a decrease from last year’s three‐year average of 27.9%)

All sub‐areas saw an increase in response rate in 2015 except for the Nanaimo, Parksville /

Qualicum, and the North Island, which had a 0.6%, 1.5%, and 0.8% decrease respectively.

Comox Valley was the only sub‐area that has consistently increased over the past three years.

Nanaimo was the only sub‐area that has consistently declined over the past three years.

The North Island sub‐area had the lowest three‐year average response of 8.7%; therefore,

survey results were not analyzed in further detail for any year.

2014 2015 2016Three Year

Average

Questionnaire Mail

Outs6,820 8,047 10,211 7,808

Completed

Questionnaires1,465 1,679 2,214 1,720

Total Responses (%) 21.5 20.9 21.7 22.2


2016 Buyer Report


Community Movement 2014 ‐ 2016

In 2016 two additional options were added to the survey: ‘Not moving, but purchasing an additional

residence in a different community’ and ‘Not moving, but purchasing an additional residence in the

same community’. This did not change the relative positioning for the top three choices for most of the

sub‐areas except for the third option in the Islands sub‐area.

The ‘Community Movement’ trends (top three frequencies for each of the past three years) are shown

in the table below. A few obvious trends in the Board Area are:

In 2016 the most common community migration was ‘New to this community’ for the Board

Area declining from 58.9% in 2014 to 56.8% in 2016. The category ‘New to this community’ is

the most common in all sub‐areas in all years and ranges from 45.6% in Campbell River in 2016

to 77.8% in the Islands in 2014.

The second most common movement pattern was ‘Moving to a new residence in the same

community’ for the Board Area which has been steadily decreasing since 2014, from 33.6% to

32.9%. It is also the second most common category in all the sub‐areas.

New to the community 58.9% New to this community 58.5%New to this community (Less

than one year)56.8%

Moving to a new residence in

the same community33.6%


same community33.3%


same community32.9%

Moving back to the community 7.5%Moving back to this

community8.2%

Moving back to this

community6.6%


than one year)45.7%




same community42.7%


same community44.4%


community9.8%

Moving back to this

community7.9%


than one year)53.1%




same community34.4%


same community36.2%


community10.1%

Moving back to this

community6.5%


than one year)63.4%




same community25.4%


same community25.7%


community6.8%

Moving back to this

community6.8%

2016

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

2015

Board Area

Campbell River

2014


2016 Buyer Report



than one year)48.4%




same community42.4%


same community40.4%


community9.4%

Moving back to this

community7.4%


than one year)71.6%




same community24.0%


same community21.8%


community4.7%

Moving back to this

community4.3%


than one year)47.8%




same community41.1%


same community34.4%


community12.5%

Moving back to this

community10.0%


than one year)76.2%




same community29.2%


same community16.7%

Moving back to the community 7.4% Moving back to the community 0.0%

Not moving, but purchasing an

additional residence in a

different community

7.1%

2016

Nanaimo

Islands

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast

North Island

2014 2015


2016 Buyer Report


Time Resident in Community Prior to Purchase 2014 – 2016

The below table summarizes two questions. The first question was ‘How many years have you lived

your current community’, this isolated those respondents who were moving to a new residence

within the same community. The second question was ‘You have indicated you are moving back to

this community. How many years have you been away?’, this isolated those respondents who were

moving back to a community after having lived elsewhere for a time.

The ‘Time Resident in Community Prior to Purchase’ trends (top three frequencies for each of the

past three years) are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends in the Board Area are:

The most common category for the Board Area for time in the same community is ‘More than

20 years’ steadily increasing from 2014 with 36.4% to 38.4% in 2016. The second most

common category was ‘6 to 10 years’ for the Board area ranging from 18.6% in 2015 to 19.7%

in 2014.

Time away has a little more variability where ‘6 to 10 years’ away was the most common for

2014 and 2016 Board Areas but ‘More than 20 years’ was the most common in 2015. The

second highest category varies year over year.

In 2014, for those who are moving within the same community and asked how long they have

lived in this community, the most common category was ‘More than 20 years’, except in the

Islands sub‐area. For time away, there was more variability between sub‐areas; however, 6 to

10 years was the most common in the Board Area with 23.6%.

In 2015 the most common length of time for those moving within the same community was

‘More than 20 years’ for the Board Area at 36.9% and most common for all sub‐areas except

the islands. For time away, the overall Board Area time has increased from 2014 with ‘More

than 20 years’ as the most common length of time with 26.2%.

In 2016 the most common category for the length of time in the same community was “More

than 20 years” for all sub‐areas except Parksville/Qualicum. The top category for time away

was ‘6 to 10 years’ except in Campbell River, Comox Valley, and Parksville / Qualicum.


2016 Buyer Report


More than 20

years36.4% 6 to 10 23.6%

More than 20

years36.9%

More than 20

years26.2%

More than 20

years38.4% 6 to 10 23.1%

6 to 10 19.7% 3 to 5 19.1% 6 to 10 18.6% 6 to 10 24.1% 6 to 10 18.9%More than 20

years20.9%

3 to 5 15.2%More than 20

years18.2% 3 to 5 14.1% 11 to 15 16.8% 3 to 5 14.4% 3 to 5 16.9%

More than 20

years38.6%

1 to 2 and 16

to 2025.0%

More than 20

years39.3%

More than 20

years35.8%

More than 20

years43.7%

More than 20

years26.2%

3 to 5 20.0%6 to 10 and 3

to 516.7% 6 to 10 21.3% 11 to 15 21.4% 6 to 10 16.1%

6 to 10 and

11 to 1521.1%

6 to 10 18.6%

11 to 15 and

More than 20

years

8.3% 3 to 5 18.0%6 to 10 and

16 to 2014.3% 3 to 5 13.4%

16 to 20 and

2 and 415.8%

More than 20

years29.7% 6 to 10 38.9%

More than 20

years33.9% 11 to 15 27.2%

More than 20

years38.9%

3 to 5 and

More than 20

years

28.6%


years27.8%

3 to 5 and 6

to 1016.1% 3 to 5 24.2% 6 to 10 18.9%

1 to 2 and 6

to 1014.3%

3 to 5 17.6%1 to 2 and 16

to 2011.1% 1 to 2 13.4% 6 to 10 18.2% 3 to 5 16.0%

11 to 15 and

16 to 207.1%

More than 20

years46.6%

3 to 5 and 6

to 10 and 11

to 15 and

More than 20

years

20.8%More than 20

years41.3% 6 to 10 45.0%

More than 20

years42.5% 6 to 10 30.1%

6 to 10 19.0% 1 to 2 16.7% 6 to 10 16.0%More than 20

years25.0% 6 to 10 18.9% 1 to 2 23.3%

1 to 2 13.8% 16 to 20 0.0% 3 to 5 14.7%

1 to 2 and 3

to 5 and 11 to

15

10.0% 3 to 5 12.9%

16 to 20 and

More than 20

years

13.3%

More than 20

years36.8%

3 to 5 and 6

to 1024.3%

More than 20

years37.6%

6 to 10 and

More than 20

years

23.2%More than 20

years36.9% 6 to 10 26.2%


years18.9% 6 to 10 19.6% 16 to 20 16.3% 6 to 10 16.7% 11 to 15 16.7%

3 to 5 16.8% 16 to 20 13.5% 3 to 5 11.9%3 to 5 and 11

to 1514.0% 3 to 5 15.5%

3 to 5 and 16

to 20 14.3%

More than 20

years28.4% 1 to 2 45.5%

More than 20

years27.7%

More than 20

years47.0% 6 to 10 30.5% 11 to 15 35.3%

6 to 10 20.9% 3 to 5 27.3% 6 to 10 20.7% 1 to 2 17.6%More than 20

years22.1% 3 to 5 23.5%

16 to 20 16.4% 6 to 10 18.2% 11 to 15 18.4%

3 to 5 and 6

to 10 and 11

to 15

11.8% 3 to 5 14.7%More than 20

years 17.6%

More than 20

years61.5% 11 to 15 60.0%

More than 20

years69.7%

More than 20

years42.8%

More than 20

years63.8%

6 to 10 and

More than 20

years

33.3%

6 to 10 15.4% 6 to 10 20.0% 3 to 5 13.0% 6 to 10 28.6%6 to 10 and

16 to 20 13.9% 3 to 5 22.3%

1 to 2, 3 to 5,

and 16 to 207.7% 16 to 20 20.0% 6 to 10 8.7%

1 to 2 and 16

to 2014.3% 11 to 15 5.6% 11 to 15 11.1%


years100.0% 6 to 10 42.8% N/A 0.0%

3 to 5 and

More than 20

years

30.0% N/A 0.0%

More than 20

years25.0% N/A 0.0% 3 to 5 28.6% N/A 0.0% 6 to 10 20.0% N/A 0.0%

N/A 0.0% N/A 0.0% 16 to 20 28.6% N/A 0.0%11 to 15 and

16 to 20 10.0% N/A 0.0%

2016

Same Community

2016

Time Away

Islands

Port Alberni /

West Coast

Board Area

Campbell

River

Comox Valley

Cowichan

Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

North Island

2014

Same Community Time Away

20152015

Same Community

2014

Time Away


2016 Buyer Report


Buyer Origin 2014 – 2016

In the 2016 survey, there was an addition of two new options in the community movement question

and skip logic restrictions those respondents who indicated they are moving or purchasing in the

same community could not respond to this question. This was done to increase accuracy of

responses. Therefore, there is a change year over year of top selections and 2016 is not directly

comparable to 2014 and 2015. The ‘Buyer Origin’ trends (i.e., top three frequencies for each of the

past three years) are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

For the entire Board Area, the top three categories remained the same in 2014 and 2015

(‘Within same area’, ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’, and ‘Alberta’), with very similar

frequencies over the two‐year period and totalled 59.8% and 64.1% of all origin categories.

In 2016 the top categories were (Elsewhere on Vancouver Island, Vancouver, and Other B.C.)

and the top categories totalling 52.1%.

The most common category, ‘Within same area’, remained the same for 2014 and 2015 for all

sub‐areas, except the Islands where in 2014 Vancouver was the most common origin.

In 2016 ‘Elsewhere on Vancouver Island’ was the top option for the sub‐areas: Campbell River,

Cowichan Valley, Port Alberni / West Coast, and the Islands. ‘Vancouver’ was the top selection

for the Comox Valley, Nanaimo, Parksville / Qualicum, and the Islands sub‐areas.

Within Same Area 35.7% Within same area 35.3% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 20.3%

Alberta 14.4% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 14.8% Vancouver 19.5%

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 14.0% Alberta 9.7% Other B.C. 12.3%


Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 13.3% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 14.0% Alberta 15.5%

Alberta 10.1% Other B.C. 11.2% Other B.C. 14.0%

Within Same Area 35.0% Within same area 36.8% Vancouver 21.0%

Alberta 18.5% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 11.3% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 17.4%

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 10.0% Vancouver 10.4% Other B.C. 14.3%


Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 16.6% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 15.3% Greater Victoria 15.1%

Alberta 13.6% Alberta 10.2% Vancouver 14.1%


Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 12.9% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 10.9% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 19.9%

Alberta 9.6% Alberta 9.4% Alberta 9.4%


Alberta 21.9% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 21.5% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 18.7%

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 14.6% Alberta 11.3% Other B.C. 14.0%


Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 22.5% Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 19.6% Other B.C. 19.2%

Other B.C. and Alberta 12.5% Other B.C. 10.7% Greater Victoria 13.5%

Vancouver 25.9% Within same area 24.9%Elsewhere on Vancouver Island and

Vancouver and Other B.C.15.6%

Within Same Area 14.8% Vancouver 20.8% Alberta 12.4%

Elsewhere on Vancouver Island 14.8% Alberta and Ontario 16.7% Greater Victoria and Ontario 9.4%

201620152014

Islands

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni / West

Coast

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


Major Reason for Purchase 2014 ‐ 2016

The option ‘Downsizing’ was added to this question in the 2016 survey due to the frequency of

mentions in the ‘Other’ category in previous surveys. This can result in changes in the distributions.

The ‘Major Reason for Purchase’ trends (top three frequencies for each of the past three years) are

shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category in the Board Area (ranging from 81.4% ‐ 94.0%) for all three years,

and in all areas, was ‘Principal Residence’.

The second most common category at 1.8% ‐ 2.2% for all three years was ‘Investment/Rental’

for the Board Area in 2014 and 2015, and ‘Downsizing’ in 2016 with 11.7%.

The third most common category ranging from 1.4% ‐ 1.8% was ‘Recreation/Vacation’ for the

Board Area in 2014 and 2015 and ‘Investment / rental home’ in 2016 with 2.7%.

The most common category for all areas for all three years was ‘Principal Residence’. For

specific areas, the second and third categories varied from the overall Board Area, over all

three years, with no obvious trends apparent.

Principal Residence 94.0% Principal Residence 94.1% Your principal residence 81.5%

Investment/Rental 1.8% Investment/Rental 2.1% Downsizing 11.7%

Recreation/Vacation 1.8%Recreation/Vacation and

Other1.7%

Investment / rental

home2.7%


Other 1.9% Other 2.8% Downsizing 10.8%

Investment/Rental 1.3%Recreation/Vacation and

Investment/Rental1.4%

Investment / rental

home2.1%


Recreation/Vacation 2.3% Investment/Rental 2.8% Downsizing 12.2%

Investment/Rental 1.5% Recreation/Vacation 1.5% Other 3.7%


Other 2.6% Recreation/Vacation 1.7% Downsizing 11.5%

Recreation/Vacation 1.9% Investment/Rental 1.7%Investment / rental

home3.4%


Investment/Rental 2.4% Investment/Rental 3.1% Downsizing 11.2%

Student Housing 1.2% Other 1.7%Investment / rental

home2.9%


Recreation/Vacation 2.1% Recreation/Vacation 1.4% Downsizing 12.4%

Investment/Rental 1.7% Other 1.4% Recreation / vacation 1.8%


Investment/Rental 7.5%Recreation/Vacation and

Other3.6% Downsizing 13.3%

Recreation/Vacation 5.0% Investment/Rental 1.8%Investment / rental

home and Other5.6%


Recreation/Vacation 7.4% Recreation/Vacation 12.5%Recreation / vacation

home and Downsizing9.5%

Investment/Rental 3.7% Other 4.2% Other 2.4%

201620152014

Islands

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville / Qualicum

Port Alberni / West Coast

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence 2014 – 2016

The ‘First‐Time Purchase of Principal Residence’ trends (Yes or No frequencies for each of the past

three years) are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category with frequencies from 66.0% to 94.2% for all three years and in all

sub‐areas was ‘No’.

These trends were relatively unchanged for all areas over the past three years, with minimal

variation, except for the Port Alberni / West Coast sub‐area which had the largest change,

ranging from 88.6% to 66.0%, likely due to the smaller data sets.

The Parksville/Qualicum sub‐area had the highest three‐year average of the ‘No’ frequency,

averaging 92.5%.

The Campbell River and Nanaimo sub‐areas had the highest three‐year average ‘Yes’

frequency, averaging 18.9% and 21.5% respectively.

2014 2015 2016Three‐Year

Average

No 85.4% No 85.8% No 84.0% 84.5%

Yes 14.6% Yes 14.2% Yes 16.0% 15.5%

No 75.6% No 82.7% No 83.8% 81.1%

Yes 24.4% Yes 17.3% Yes 16.2% 18.9%

No 88.8% No 87.2% No 85.9% 86.8%

Yes 11.2% Yes 12.8% Yes 14.1% 13.2%

No 87.1% No 87.4% No 82.5% 84.1%

Yes 12.9% Yes 12.6% Yes 17.5% 15.9%

No 80.0% No 81.5% No 77.7% 78.5%

Yes 20.0% Yes 18.5% Yes 22.3% 21.5%

No 94.2% No 93.8% No 91.6% 92.5%

Yes 5.8% Yes 6.2% Yes 8.4% 7.5%

No 88.6% No 66.0% No 82.1% 84.3%

Yes 11.4% Yes 34.0% Yes 17.9% 15.7%

No 83.3% No 81.0% No 94.7% 90.9%

Yes 16.7% Yes 19.0% Yes 5.3% 9.1%Islands

Port Alberni / West Coast

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville / Qualicum

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


Used RRSP for Down payment 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘Used RRSP for Down payment’ trends (Yes or No frequencies for each of the past three years)

are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category was ‘No’ for all three years and in all sub‐areas, with three‐year

average frequencies from 61.7 to 75.0%.

The category ‘No’ ranged from 50.0% to 80.0% over all three years in all sub‐areas, and 50.0%

to 100.0% in the islands sub‐area.

The Comox Valley sub‐area had the highest average ‘Yes’ frequency, with a three‐year average

of 38.1%.

Three‐Year

Average

No 58.0% No 63.2% No 69.9% 63.7%

Yes 42.0% Yes 36.8% Yes 30.0% 36.3%

No 62.2% No 65.2% No 67.6% 65.0%

Yes 37.8% Yes 34.8% Yes 32.4% 35.0%

No 51.9% No 69.4% No 63.8% 61.7%

Yes 48.1% Yes 30.6% Yes 35.6% 38.1%

No 65.7% No 59.4% No 65.2% 63.4%

Yes 34.3% Yes 40.6% Yes 34.8% 36.6%

No 57.0% No 58.7% No 71.8% 62.5%

Yes 43.0% Yes 41.3% Yes 28.2% 37.5%

No 50.0% No 57.1% No 80.0% 62.4%

Yes 50.0% Yes 42.9% Yes 20.0% 37.6%

No 60.0% No 82.4% No 80.0% 74.1%

Yes 40.0% Yes 17.6% Yes 20.0% 25.9%

No 50.0% No 75.0% No 100.0% 75.0%

Yes 50.0% Yes 25.0% Yes 0.0% 25.0%Islands

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

2014 2015

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast

North Island

2016


2016 Buyer Report


Purchased as Retirement Home 2014 ‐2016

In 2015 skip logic was incorporated into the survey and, therefore, the question regarding retirement

residence only included those who have indicated they purchased their home as a ‘Principal

Residence’, ‘Housing for self or family member attending a learning institution’, and ‘Other’. Those

who purchased a home for ‘Recreation / Vacation’ and ‘Investment / Rental’ purposes did not

answer this question. This provides more accurate and specific segments and results in a higher trend

of ‘Yes’.

The ‘Purchased as Retirement Home’ trends (i.e., Yes or No frequencies for each of the past three

years) are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The category ‘Yes’, for the Board Area has been the majority since 2014 ranging from 56.8% to

62.3%.

The Port Alberni / West Coast and Islands sub‐areas have seen a steady decline in homes

‘Purchased for Retirement’ since 2014.

Three‐Year

Average

Yes 59.6% Yes 62.3% Yes 56.8% 59.5%

No 40.4% No 37.7% No 43.2% 40.5%

Yes 44.2% Yes 60.8% Yes 56.4% 53.8%

No 55.8% No 39.2% No 43.6% 46.2%

Yes 55.1% Yes 57.9% Yes 55.0% 56.0%

No 44.9% No 42.1% No 45.0% 44.0%

Yes 66.2% Yes 61.4% Yes 61.7% 63.1%

No 33.8% No 38.6% No 38.3% 36.9%

Yes 51.7% Yes 54.6% No 54.6% 53.6%

No 48.3% No 45.4% Yes 45.4% 46.4%

Yes 73.8% Yes 77.3% Yes 68.4% 73.2%

No 26.2% No 22.7% No 31.6% 26.8%

Yes 69.0% Yes 54.8% Yes 50.0% 57.9%

No 31.0% No 45.2% No 50.0% 42.1%

Yes 85.0% Yes 65.0% Yes 70.0% 73.3%

No 15.0% No 35.0% No 30.0% 26.7%Islands

2014 2015

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast

North Island

2016


2016 Buyer Report


How Buyers First Became Aware of Property 2014 – 2016

In the 2016 survey the option ‘My REALTOR® contacted me (other than PCS ‐ private client services)’

was added to increase accuracy of selected options. This can result in changes in the distributions.

The ‘How Buyers First Became Aware of Property’ trends for the past three years are shown in the

table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category for all three years was ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS (private client

services)’ for the Board Area and ranged from 30.2% to 36.9% between 2014 and 2016.

The second most common category was ‘Internet‐ REALTOR.ca site’ for the entire Board Area

and was consistent and steadily decreasing, from 26.7% in 2014 to 23.0% in 2016.

In 2014, all sub‐areas except Port Alberni / West Coast had ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS

(private client services)’ as the most common category.

In 2015, all sub‐areas had ‘My REALTOR® supplied PCS (private client services)’ as the most

common category.

In 2016, all sub‐areas except Port Alberni / West Coast and the Islands had ‘My REALTOR®

supplied PCS (private client services)’ as the most common category.


2016 Buyer Report


2014 2015 2016

My REALTOR® supplied PCS 34.8% My REALTOR® supplied PCS 36.9% My REALTOR® supplied PCS 30.2%

Internet– REALTOR.ca site 26.7% Internet– REALTOR.ca site 24.9% Internet– REALTOR.ca site 23.0%

For Sale sign 10.5%Internet – other than

REALTOR.ca site8.7%

My REALTOR® contacted me

(other than PCS)12.5%



For Sale sign 12.0% Word of Mouth 10.5%My REALTOR® contacted me




For Sale sign 10.4% For Sale sign 6.4%My REALTOR® contacted me




For Sale sign 11.3%Internet – other than

REALTOR.ca site11.2%





For Sale sign 7.9% For Sale sign 9.4%My REALTOR® contacted me




For Sale sign 11.5% Contacted a Real Estate office 10.2%Internet – other than


Contacted a Real Estate office 30.0% My REALTOR® supplied PCS 39.1% Internet– REALTOR.ca site 22.3%

My REALTOR® supplied PCS 22.5% Internet– REALTOR.ca site 17.9%Internet – other than


Internet– REALTOR.ca site 20.0% Contacted a Real Estate office 16.1% My REALTOR® supplied PCS 14.4%

My REALTOR® supplied PCS 33.3% My REALTOR® supplied PCS 41.7%

Internet– REALTOR.ca site and


(other than PCS)

19.0%

Internet– REALTOR.ca site 18.5% Internet– REALTOR.ca site 29.2%Internet – other than


For Sale sign 14.8% Contacted a Real Estate office 12.5%

Contacted a Real Estate office

and My REALTOR® supplied

PCS

14.3%

Islands

North Island

Nanaimo

Comox Valley

Campbell River

Board Area

Cowichan

Valley

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast


2016 Buyer Report


How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR® 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘How Buyers First Chose a REALTOR®’ trends for the past three years are shown in the table

below. A few obvious trends are:

The options were updated in the 2015 survey, with options added and some worded differently to

provide more accurate representation of the respondent groups. This can result in changes in the

distributions from 2014.

The top three categories are the same for all three years; however, the order changes from

2014 / 2015 and 2016. All the three top categories for the Board Area for all three years are

referral or relationship based.

In 2014 to 2015, the most common category was ‘Previously dealt with this REALTOR®’

ranging from 16.2% to 16.6%. In 2016 the most common category was ‘REALTOR® was

recommended by my family or a relative’ with 15.1%.

The second most common category for the entire Board Area, in 2014 and 2015 was

‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate, or friend’ with 15.2% and 13.9%

respectively. In 2016 the second most common category was ‘Previously dealt with this

REALTOR®’ with 14.5%.

The third most common category for the entire Board Area, in 2014 to 2015, was ‘REALTOR®

was recommended by my family or a relative’ at 12.5% and 12.1% respectively. In 2016 the

third most common category was ‘REALTOR® was recommended by co‐worker, associate, or

friend’ at 14.1%.

2014 2015 2016

Previously dealt with this

REALTOR®16.2%


REALTOR®16.6%

REALTOR® was recommended

by my family or a relative15.1%


by co‐worker, associate or

friend

15.2%



friend

13.9%Previously dealt with this

REALTOR®14.5%







friend

14.1%



friend


REALTOR®22.3%




REALTOR®15.8%



friend


REALTOR®15.4%







friend

10.8%



friend


REALTOR®17.0%




REALTOR®15.8%



friend


REALTOR®16.6%







friend

13.6%

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley


2016 Buyer Report


2014 2015 2015


REALTOR®15.1%


REALTOR®16.6%


REALTOR®14.3%







friend

13.8%



friend

13.6%



friend

12.5%REALTOR® was recommended



REALTOR®17.0%


REALTOR®18.2%



friend

18.6%



friend

15.3%



friend








REALTOR®12.5%



friend / Previously dealt with

this REALTOR®

14.6%



friend



REALTOR® was

recommended/referred by

another REALTOR®


REALTOR®12.4%

REALTOR® was


another REALTOR®

12.9%

Internet‐REALTOR® was the

agent on listed property10.4%

REALTOR® is a friend or co‐

worker10.7%



friend and Previously dealt

with this REALTOR®

12.7%


REALTOR®25.0%




REALTOR®20.1%

Attended at a Real Estate

office15.0%



friend or Previously dealt with

this REALTOR®

12.5%


worker and Internet‐REALTOR®

was the agent on listed

property

12.2%


by my family or a relative and

REALTOR® agent was listed on

property

12.5%


office or Internet‐REALTOR®


property or Other



Internet‐REALTOR® was the

agent on listed property22.2%


REALTOR® or Internet‐

REALTOR® was the agent on

listed property

20.8% Other 21.5%


REALTOR®18.5%

Called the REALTOR® shown

on a For Sale sign on property12.6%


by my family or a relative and


REALTOR®

14.3%


by my family or a relative /

Other: Please specify

14.8%


worker or REALTOR® was

recommended by my family or

a relative or Other or



friend

8.3%

REALTOR® was


another REALTOR® and Called

the REALTOR® shown on a For

Sale sign on property and


office and Internet‐REALTOR®


property

9.5%

Islands

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

North Island

Port Alberni /

West Coast


2016 Buyer Report


Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR® 2014 ‐ 2016

The trends for ‘Form of Agency Provided by REALTOR®’ for the past three years are shown in the

table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category for the entire Board Area was ‘Single Agency ‐ representing only

Buyer’, and ranged from 70.0% to 72.2% between 2014 to 2016.

The second most common category for the entire Board Area was, ‘Dual Agency ‐ representing

both Buyer and Seller’, ranging from 20.0% to 22.3%, from 2014 to 2016.

The third category (Don’t Know) for the Board Area ranged from 7.7% to 8.5% between 2014

to 2016.

Board Area

Single Agency – representing

only Buyer 72.2%


only Buyer 70.0%


only Buyer 70.5%

Dual Agency – representing






Don't know 7.8% Don't know 7.7% Don't know 8.5%


only Buyer 74.7%


only Buyer 67.1%


only Buyer 67.2%









only Buyer 72.7%


only Buyer 70.2%


only Buyer 72.4%









only Buyer 72.5%


only Buyer 69.8%


only Buyer 72.3%









only Buyer 76.3%


only Buyer 74.7%


only Buyer 73.2%









only Buyer 71.2%


only Buyer 71.1%


only Buyer 70.9%









only Buyer 50.0%


only Buyer 41.1%


only Buyer 57.3%











only Buyer 58.3%


only Buyer 52.4%


only Buyer 40.7%






201620152014

Board Area

Campbell River

Islands

Port Alberni / West

Coast

Parksville /

Qualicum

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


Survey Data Comparisons

Survey Data 2014 – 2016

The three‐year comparisons that follow are based on survey data for individual areas. The yearly

totals and three‐year averages from each area are listed in the table and figure below.

From 2014 to 2016, there was an increase in Board totals (increased by 49.7% for the data totals);

with increases in all Board sub‐areas ranging from 41.9% in Campbell River to 96.4% in Port

Alberni / West Coast.

2014 2015 2016Three Year

Average

Change

(%) from

2014 to

2016

Campbell River 699 712 992 801 41.9%

Comox Valley 1,253 1,418 1,780 1,484 42.1%

Cowichan Valley 1,245 1,420 1,877 1,514 50.8%

Nanaimo 1,907 2,321 2,888 2,372 51.4%

Parksville / Qualicum 1,097 1,353 1,564 1,338 42.6%

Port Alberni / West Coast 330 478 648 485 96.4%

North Island 125 147 184 152 47.2%

Islands 164 198 278 213 69.5%

Board Area 6,820 8,047 10,211 8,359 49.7%

Number of Surveys Mailed Out


2016 Buyer Report


Response Data 2014 – 2016

The three‐year comparisons that follow are based on survey data for individual areas. The yearly

totals and three‐year averages from each area are listed in the table and figure below.

From 2014 to 2016, there was a decrease in Board totals (increased by 51.1% for the data totals);

increases in sub‐areas ranging from 34.0% in Nanaimo to 125.0% in the Port Alberni / West Coast

sub‐area.

2014 2015 2016Three Year

Average

Change (%)

from 2014 to

2016

Campbell River 158 143 241 181 52.5%

Comox Valley 260 326 434 340 66.9%

Cowichan Valley 270 295 444 336 64.4%

Nanaimo 412 458 552 474 34.0%

Parksville / Qualicum 288 363 395 349 37.2%

Port Alberni / West Coast 40 56 90 62 125.0%

North Island 10 14 16 13 60.0%

Islands 27 24 42 31 55.6%

Board Area 1,465 1,679 2,214 1,786 51.1%

Number of Responses


2016 Buyer Report


Board Area Selling Price Range 2014 ‐ 2016

To best illustrate three‐year selling price trends, two frequency graphs are presented on the next two

pages for the Board Area. They are:

Frequency (Total numbers of Sales); and

Frequency (Percent of Sales);

The information is presented in price categories (in $50,000 increments) from $0 up to greater than

$1,000,000. Analyses of trends within areas can be found in the next section (Selling Price Range

2014‐2016). The top trends for the Board Area from these comparative figures from 2014 to 2016

are as follows:

In 2014 the selling price with the highest frequency (i.e., 1,018 homes or 14.9%) remained at

$300,001‐$350,000.


$300,001‐$350,000.


$300,001‐$350,000.


2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report



2016 Buyer Report


Selling Price Range 2014 ‐ 2016

The trends within areas are shown in the table below with comparisons of the three highest selling

price categories from 2014 ‐ 2016.

The top selling price categories for the Board Area was $300,001‐$350,000 from 2014 to 2016

ranging from 13.3% to 15.3%. However, the overall categories have shifted higher from 2014

where the top three were $300,001 to $350,000, $250,001 to $300,000, and $200,001 to

$250,000. In 2015 and 2016 the top three categories were $300,001 to $350,000, $250,001 to

$300,000, and $350,001 to $400,000.

From 2014 ‐ 2016, the areas with the highest selling price ranges were: Comox Valley,

Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, and Parksville/Qualicum, with $350,001‐$400,000 categories

represented. Parksville/Qualicum had the highest selling price ranges with $400,001 to

$450,000 represented in the third top category in 2016.

The North Island sub‐area exhibited the lowest price categories and frequencies, with

$50,001‐$100,000 categories represented 21.1% to 22.4% from 2014 – 2016 and the $0 to

$50,000 at 19.0% in 2015.

2014 2015 2016

$300,001 to $350,000 14.9% $300,001 to $350,000 15.3% $300,001 to $350,000 13.3%

$250,001 to $300,000 14.4% $250,001 to $300,000 14.0% $350,001 to $400,000 12.3%

$200,001 to $250,000 13.9% $350,001 to $400,000 11.9% $250,001 to $300,000 12.1%

$200,001 to $250,000 and

$250,001 to $300,00020.9% $250,001 to $300,000 23.8% $300,001 to $350,000 18.8%

$300,001 to $350,000 18.7% $300,001 to $350,000 16.9% $250,001 to $300,000 18.0%

$50,001 to $100,000 9.3% $200,001 to $250,000 15.4% $200,001 to $250,000 14.0%

$250,001 to $300,000 16.5% $300,001 to $350,000 18.0% $300,001 to $350,000 13.8%

$300,001 to $350,000 16.4% $250,001 to $300,000 15.3% $350,001 to $400,000 13.7%

$200,001 to $250,000 14.5% $350,001 to $400,000 12.9% $250,001 to $300,000 13.0%

$250,001 to $300,000 14.6% $300,001 to $350,000 14.7% $350,001 to $400,000 15.3%

$350,001 to $400,000 13.6% $250,001 to $300,000 13.7% $300,001 to $350,000 12.8%

$300,001 to $350,000 13.3% $350,001 to $400,000 11.4% $250,001 to $300,000 11.7%

$300,001 to $350,000 14.3% $300,001 to $350,000 16.3% $300,001 to $350,000 13.9%

$350,001 to $400,000 14.2% $350,001 to $400,000 13.5% $250,001 to $300,000 12.6%

$250,001 to $300,000 13.8% $250,001 to $300,000 12.6% $350,001 to $400,000 12.5%

$300,001 to $350,000 18.1% $300,001 to $350,000 15.2% $300,001 to $350,000 12.1%

$350,001 to $400,000 14.9% $350,001 to $400,000 14.5% $350,001 to $400,000 12.0%

$250,001 to $300,000 10.8% $250,001 to $300,000 11.8% $400,001 to $450,000 9.8%

$200,001 to $250,000 21.8% $150,001 to $200,000 19.2% $150,001 to $200,000 19.2%

$100,001 to $150,000 19.7% $200,001 to $250,000 16.1% $200,001 to $250,000 19.0%

$150,001 to $200,000 18.8% $100,001 to $150,000 15.9% $100,001 to $150,000 13.7%

$150,001 to $200,000 22.4% $50,001 to $100,000 21.1% $150,001 to $200,000 21.1%

$50,001 to $100,000 19.2% $0 to $50,000 19.0% $100,001 to $150,000 20.1%

$100,001 to $150,000 15.2% $100,001 to $150,000 17.7% $50,001 to $100,000 17.4%

$200,001 to $250,000 17.0% $200,001 to $250,000 15.6% $350,001 to $400,000 14.1%

$150,001 to $200,000 and

$300,001 to $350,00013.3%

$250,001 to $300,000

and $300,001 to

$350,000

14.1% $300,001 to $350,000 12.2%

$250,001 to $300,000 10.3% $150,001 to $200,000 10.1% $250,001 to $300,000 11.9%

North Island

Islands

Parksville /

Qualicum

Port Alberni /

West Coast

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo


2016 Buyer Report


Home Type 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘Home Type’ trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends

are:

The most common category was ‘Single‐Family’ for the entire Board Area but has been

steadily decreasing from 60.9% in 2014 to 57.9% in 2016 for the Board Area.

The second most common category for the Board Area was ‘Condominium (Apt)’, with

frequencies steadily increasing from 7.8% in 2014 to 10.0% in 2016.

The third most common category for the Board Area was ‘Condominium (Twnhse)’, with

frequencies steadily increasing from 6.1% in 2014 to 7.2% in 2016.

2014

Single Family 60.9% Single Family 59.1% Single Family 57.9%

Condominium (Apt) 7.8% Condominium (Apt) 9.1% Condominium (Apt) 10.0%

Condominium (Twnhse) 6.1% Condominium (Twnhse) 6.2% Condominium (Twnhse) 7.2%



Patio Home 4.9% Patio Home 5.6% Patio Home 7.8%



Condominium (Twnhse) 6.4% Patio Home 7.5% Condominium (Twnhse) 9.0%


Acreage With House 8.9% Single Family (Strata) 9.5% Single Family (Strata) 12.3%

Single Family (Strata) 8.5% Acreage With House 8.2% Acreage With House 8.0%



Condominium (Twnhse) 8.9% Condominium (Twnhse) 8.7% Condominium (Twnhse) 9.6%


Patio Home 10.4% Patio Home 8.7% Patio Home 8.3%

Acreage With House 6.9% Acreage With House 8.3% Condominium (Apt) 7.4%


Acreage With House 6.1%Manufactured/Mobile

On Pad6.1% Condominium (Twnhse) 7.7%




Single Family

(Waterfront)6.4%

Acreage With House6.8%

Single Family

(Waterfront)9.2%


Acreage With House 37.6% Acreage With House 34.8% Acreage With House 31.3%

Single Family

(Waterfront)17.6%

Single Family

(Waterfront)15.2%

Single Family

(Waterfront)15.1%

20162015

Islands

Cowichan Valley

Port Alberni /

West Coast

Parksville /

Qualicum

Campbell River

Board Area

Comox Valley

Nanaimo

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bedrooms 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘Number of Bedrooms’ trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few

obvious trends are:

The three most common categories for the entire Board Area – ‘Three’, ‘Two’, and ‘Four’

bedrooms, at frequencies ranging from 41.3% to 43.6%, 25.9% to 26.6%, and 17.7% to 18.4%

respectively, from 2014 ‐ 2016.

The decreasing frequency order of ‘Three’, ‘Two’, and ‘Four’ bedrooms remained unchanged

for the Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, North Islands, and Parksville/Qualicum sub‐

areas from 2014 ‐ 2016.

The Port Alberni/West Coast and Campbell River sub‐areas order have altered from decreasing

frequency of ‘Three’, ‘Two’, and ‘Four’ to ‘Three’, ‘Four’, and ‘Two’ and back from 2014 to

2016.

The Islands areas varied more likely due to the small data set.

2014 2015 2016

3 43.6% 3 42.1% 3 41.3%

2 26.2% 2 26.6% 2 25.9%

4 17.7% 4 18.2% 4 18.4%

3 53.8% 3 49.2% 3 48.7%

4 18.7% 2 23.2% 2 24.2%

2 17.3% 4 17.3% 4 15.5%

3 48.2% 3 46.7% 3 46.0%

2 26.6% 2 29.0% 2 25.7%

4 17.4% 4 17.2% 4 18.0%

3 44.7% 3 42.4% 3 42.6%

2 25.3% 2 24.3% 2 23.1%

4 20.0% 4 20.4% 4 21.5%

3 34.8% 3 32.1% 3 33.3%

2 26.4% 2 25.4% 2 26.0%

4 18.0% 4 21.5% 4 19.9%

3 47.4% 3 50.6% 3 46.1%

2 33.0% 2 31.6% 2 31.8%

4 11.9% 4 11.3% 4 12.3%

3 44.0% 3 41.5% 3 35.9%

4 23.8% 2 25.1% 4 22.8%

2 20.7% 4 20.0% 2 21.4%

3 47.6% 3 48.7% 3 41.9%

4 25.8% 4 24.6% 4 26.9%

2 16.9% 2 17.6% 2 18.1%

2 36.4% 3 39.1% 3 37.0%

3 32.7% 2 28.6% 2 35.5%

4 14.2% 1 16.7% 1 12.5%

North Island

Islands

Port Alberni / West

Coast

Parksville /

Qualicum

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo


2016 Buyer Report


Number of Bathrooms 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘Number of Bathrooms’ trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few

obvious trends are:

The most common category for the entire Board Area, as well as all individual sub‐areas, were

‘Two’ bathrooms, decreasing from 46.3% in 2014 to 44.5% in 2016 in the Board Area.

Also, the frequency ordering of ‘Two’, ‘Three’, and ‘One’ bathrooms remained constant from

2014 to 2016 for the entire Board Area, and all sub‐areas with the exception of the Port

Alberni/West Coast, North Island, and Islands sub‐areas.

2014 2015 2016

2 46.3% 2 45.3% 2 44.5%

3 30.5% 3 30.4% 3 30.7%

1 17.1% 1 17.6% 1 17.3%

2 50.1% 2 52.4% 2 50.6%

3 31.5% 3 28.4% 3 29.7%

1 15.3% 1 15.0% 1 15.8%

2 48.8% 2 47.8% 2 46.4%

3 32.3% 3 32.7% 3 30.9%

1 15.3% 1 16.2% 1 17.2%

2 42.1% 2 43.1% 2 41.7%

3 32.2% 3 31.8% 3 35.5%

1 17.6% 1 17.0% 1 13.7%

2 40.5% 2 37.0% 2 39.2%

3 35.3% 3 36.9% 3 33.9%

1 16.0% 1 16.1% 1 16.7%

2 56.7% 2 55.8% 2 50.6%

3 24.7% 3 23.5% 3 26.4%

1 12.4% 1 15.1% 1 15.7%

2 44.2% 2 44.1% 2 44.9%

1 36.8% 1 31.7% 1 27.7%

3 16.0% 3 17.9% 3 21.6%

2 51.2% 2 48.6% 2 48.0%

3 24.0% 3 24.0% 1 29.8%

1 21.6% 1 23.3% 3 19.9%

2 42.8% 2 41.9% 2 45.6%

1 38.4% 1 39.3% 1 31.7%

3 15.1% 3 16.8% 3 18.5%

Port Alberni / West

Coast

North Island

Islands

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum


2016 Buyer Report


Exterior 2014 ‐ 2016

The ‘Exterior’ trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category for the Board Area was `Vinyl` ranging from 32.0% in 2016 to

34.2% in 2015.

The second most common category for the Board Area was `Wood’ ranging from 21.2% to

21.8% between 2014 and 2016.

`Vinyl` was the most common in the Campbell River, Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, and

Nanaimo sub‐areas.

‘Wood’ was the most common category in the Parksville/Qualicum, Port Alberni/West Coast,

North Island, and Islands sub‐areas.

Vinyl 33.4% Vinyl 34.2% Vinyl 32.0%

Wood 21.2% Wood 21.8% Wood 21.3%

Hardi Plank 15.5% Hardi Plank 15.2% Hardi Plank 16.9%



Wood 18.2% Wood 19.2% Wood 18.3%


Wood 18.1% Hardi Plank 17.0% Hardi Plank 21.8%

Hardi Plank 16.9% Wood 16.6% Wood 18.6%



Stucco 18.1% Wood 17.7% Wood 18.4%


Wood 13.7% Wood 15.5% Wood 14.3%

Stucco 11.7% Stucco 11.7% Stucco 12.0%

Wood 30.2% Wood 29.6% Wood 27.3%

Vinyl 21.9% Vinyl 19.9% Hardi Plank 22.6%

Hardi Plank 20.2% Hardi Plank 19.4% Vinyl 19.8%

Wood 27.4% Wood 32.0% Wood 31.8%

Stucco 22.6% Vinyl 25.3% Vinyl 22.1%

Vinyl 21.7% Stucco 15.0% Stucco 16.3%

Wood 48.0% Wood 44.6% Wood 40.4%


Aluminum 6.5% Aluminum 10.1% Aluminum 6.8%

Wood 78.9% Wood 78.9% Wood 70.6%


Hardi Plank 3.1% Stucco 2.6% Stucco 4.4%

2015 2016

Board Area

Islands

Nanaimo

Parksville /

Qualicum

2014

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan

Valley

Port Alberni /

West Coast

North Island


2016 Buyer Report


Parking 2014 ‐ 2016

The Parking trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few obvious trends are:

The most common category for the Board Area, from 2014 to 2016, was `Garage‐Double`

ranging from 49.3% to 51.4%.

`Garage‐Double` was also consistently the most common category for the Campbell River,

Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, and Parksville/Qualicum sub‐areas from 2014 to

2016.

For the Port Alberni/West Coast, North Island, and Islands sub‐areas, parking categories

varied, due to smaller data sets; however, `Garage‐Single` was the dominant category.

Garage‐Double 50.9% Garage‐Double 51.4% Garage‐Double 49.3%

Carport‐Single 23.8% Carport‐Single 24.2% Carport‐Single 24.4%

Garage‐Single 15.7% Garage‐Single 15.3% Garage‐Single 15.6%
















Garage‐Single 32.8% Garage‐Double 29.7% Garage‐Single 29.8%

Carport‐Single 30.9% Carport‐Single 28.7% Garage‐Double 29.5%

Garage‐Double 24.0% Garage‐Single 26.5% Carport‐Single 26.1%

Carport‐Single 36.2% Garage‐Single 45.2% Garage‐Single 38.3%

Garage‐Single 30.4% Garage‐Double 23.2% Carport‐Single 28.3%

Garage‐Double 23.2% Carport‐Single 22.1% Garage‐Double 25.3%

Garage‐Single 35.8% Garage‐Single 42.8% Garage‐Double 35.7%

Garage‐Double 32.1% Garage‐Double 23.8% Garage‐Single 31.6%


201620152014

North Island

Islands

Port Alberni /

West Coast

Parksville /

Qualicum

Board Area

Campbell River

Comox Valley

Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo


2016 Buyer Report


Site Characteristics 2014 ‐ 2016

The Site Characteristics trends for the past three years are shown in the table below. A few obvious

trends are:

The three most common categories for the Board Area remained the same: ‘View‐Mountain’

ranging from 40.4% to 40.8%, ‘View‐Ocean’ ranging from 38.7% to 40.1%, and ‘Waterfront‐

Ocean’ steadily increasing from 10.5% to 11.3%, from 2014 ‐ 2016.

Within the sub‐areas, the trends remained fairly consistent from 2014 to 2016, with only slight

changes in order and percentage in certain areas (most noticeably the third highest category).

‘View‐Ocean’ was the most common in the sub‐areas of Campbell River, Nanaimo, Parksville /

Qualicum, and the North Island.

‘View‐Mountain’ was the most common in the sub‐areas of Comox Valley, Cowichan Valley,

and Port and Alberni / West Coast.

The Islands sub‐area Waterfront – Ocean was the most common.

View ‐ Ocean 40.4% View ‐ Mountain 40.8% View ‐ Mountain 40.7%

View ‐ Mountain 40.1% View ‐ Ocean 38.7% View ‐ Ocean 39.0%

Waterfront ‐ Ocean 10.5% Waterfront ‐ Ocean 10.9% Waterfront ‐ Ocean 11.3%

View ‐ Ocean 60.1% View ‐ Ocean 55.6% View ‐ Ocean 65.0%

View ‐ Mountain 22.9% View ‐ Mountain 23.3% View ‐ Mountain 21.9%







View ‐ Lake 9.7% View ‐ Lake 9.5% View ‐ Lake 11.0%





View ‐ Mountain 25.5%View ‐ Mountain and

Waterfront ‐ Ocean24.6% View ‐ Mountain 26.4%

Waterfront ‐ Ocean 18.7% Waterfront ‐ Lake 3.1% Waterfront ‐ Ocean 26.2%









Waterfront ‐ Lake 6.5% View ‐ Mountain 3.2% View ‐ Mountain 7.3%

201620152014

Islands

Cowichan Valley

Port Alberni /

West Coast

Parksville /

Qualicum

Campbell River

Board Area

Comox Valley

Nanaimo

North Island


2016 Buyer Report

Documents

2016 Buyer Profile - Vancouver Island Real Estate Board · 2016 VIREB Buyer Profile 1 Source: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Introduction Notice to Readers The information and