NEWS FLASH Victoria average prices for single family homes set yet another record in August averaging $521,962. Thinking about moving to Victoria?

According to Canada's Urban Futures Institute, some 9.8 million Canadian baby boomers are approaching retirement. About 225,000 Canadians will retire this year and the number will increase to 265,000 by 2005. By 2020, the number of Canadians retiring each year will be 425,000.

As baby boomers begin to retire, prices WILL continue to rise in Victoria.

Canadian Real Estate Association - Record Home Sales

OTTAWA (CP) - The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales of existing homes should set a record this year. The association says agents on the multiple listing service sold more houses in the first seven months of this year than during the same period last year. Agents sold 40,973 units with a value of $10.1 billion in July. Both figures are seasonally adjusted. The average price of a re-sale home was $250,567, up 11.8 per cent from July last year. The association says sales set records in British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick.

Victoria Real Estate - Oak Bay Real Estate

In Oak Bay in August, 23 single-family homes were sold.And some really big money exchanged hands.Because of the sale of several multi-million dollar properties, the average price of all single-family homes sold in the municipality jumped to a gaudy $909,450.That's nearly a million bucks for an "average" house. This trend is similar in Victoria. Victoria, BC, home sales have also shot up. But wait. The numbers don't tell the real story here. The "average" house in Oak Bay is likely around the $678,000 mark (the average price over the past six months).The sales of those multi-million dollar mansions boosted the average price of single-family homes in the entire region to a new record high of $521,962 in August.Sixteen single-family home sales of over $1 million (including two of more than $5 million each) were responsible for the new heady price average, though Victoria Real Estate Board president Gary McInnis said the figure must be kept in perspective."It's important to note that sales of multi-million dollar homes can have a dramatic effect on the overall average price. The median, or mid-range price, in August for single-family homes was substantially lower, at $433,250, and the six-month average stands at $462,716."Forty three per cent of all sales of single-family homes last month were for under $400,000.Regionally, there were sales of 350 single-family homes in August, which shows continued market growth. There were 753 sales of all types of properties listed through the Victoria Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service, down from the 769 sales in an unusually hectic July, but up from the 667 sales in August of last year.The average regional price for the 184 condominiums sold in August was $239,542. In Oak Bay, six condos were sold, fetching an average price of $373,150.