The Northern BC housing market, which includes Prince George was the lone bright spot following a rough 2018 for the province.
We saw a 3% spike compared to 2017 with over 44-hundred units sold.
The north continues to buck the trend according to BC Real Estate Association Economist Brendon Ogmundonson.
“It was the only board area in all of BC that finished the year with higher sales of about 2.6% and every other market finished with double-digit declines where we saw pretty large impact with the stress test but in the north, we didn’t really see any signs of that whatsoever.”
House prices were also relatively healthy in the province’s northern capital as well as some of the resource-based communities Ogmundson tells MY PG Now.
“In places like Prince George, prices to end the year were up close to 20% while other places like Kitimat also saw pretty large spikes to end the year. Prince Rupert, Smithers, Williams Lake and Terrace also increased and I think the LNG announcement had a really big impact on demand.”
The area is expected to ride that momentum into 2019.
“We’re forecasting that across the north, average prices will rise about 10% next year and it will probably be more in some markets that are close to the LNG activity but I really think that is going to have a ripple effect across the whole area and we’re probably going to see double-digit increases in prices and that’s because demand is recovering.”
Bob Quinlan with Doucette Realty in Prince George states it all comes down to price point, especially for the younger home buyers.
“If an individual can save somewhere around fifteen to twenty thousand dollars they can get themselves into a $250,000 house and because they are a first-time buyer they do have some restrictions, credit wise and income wise but they do have some benefits like not having to pay the provincial purchase tax the first time.”
He is also seeing some noticeable shifts in the population.
“Empty-nesters are downsizing and people are realizing they don’t need that bigger, more expensive house – it is our population as we grow and shift and I think we are going to see that continue over the next year or two.”
The provincial outlook was a lot different where a 25% decline in home sales was reported according to the BC Real Estate Association.
Average home price in BC came in at over $712,000, a jump of about 0.5% from 2017 where the mark was just under $710,000.