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I've spoken a lot this year about our market's return to traditional seasonal patterns and at the conclusion of 2023 we can see that this trend continues. This is a welcome relief for sellers and buyers after an extraordinary 5 years of real estate market disruption. Everyone benefits from a more predictable real estate market, so it is encouraging to see the rhythm of seasonal trends reestablished. If this continues into 2024, we should see more inventory added in January and February and an increase in sales as consumers prepare for the spring market. True to seasonal form, December met expectations and was a slow month, both for sales and for new listings.
A total of 329 properties sold in the Victoria region this December, 2.8% more than number of properties sold in December 2022, but a 16.5% decrease from November 2023. Sales of condos were up 14.9% from December 2022 and sales of single family homes increased 1.3% from this month last year.
The single biggest impact on the housing market this year was interest rates. The increased cost of borrowing money meant that consumers had less purchasing power, which resulted in a drop in transactions. There is however still huge demand for housing in our market and as we move forward into 2024 and beyond, we need to continue to put focus on the creation of new supply so that as market activity increases prices don't increase as quickly. The only way to moderate housing prices is to bring supply closer to meeting demand. As always, our market is subject to many influences and the purchase and sale process is complex.
I've spoken a lot this year about our market's return to traditional seasonal patterns and at the conclusion of 2023 we can see that this trend continues. This is a welcome relief for sellers and buyers after an extraordinary 5 years of real estate market disruption. Everyone benefits from a more predictable real estate market, so it is encouraging to see the rhythm of seasonal trends reestablished. If this continues into 2024, we should see more inventory added in January and February and an increase in sales as consumers prepare for the spring market. True to seasonal form, December met expectations and was a slow month, both for sales and for new listings.
A total of 329 properties sold in the Victoria region this December, 2.8% more than number of properties sold in December 2022, but a 16.5% decrease from November 2023. Sales of condos were up 14.9% from December 2022 and sales of single family homes increased 1.3% from this month last year.
The single biggest impact on the housing market this year was interest rates. The increased cost of borrowing money meant that consumers had less purchasing power, which resulted in a drop in transactions. There is however still huge demand for housing in our market and as we move forward into 2024 and beyond, we need to continue to put focus on the creation of new supply so that as market activity increases prices don't increase as quickly. The only way to moderate housing prices is to bring supply closer to meeting demand. As always, our market is subject to many influences and the purchase and sale process is complex.