The BC Northern Real Estate Board reports 3928 properties worth $1.1 billion sold through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in the first nine months of 2018. At this time last year, 3878 properties worth $1 billion had changed hands. As of Sept. 30, there were 3757 properties of all types available for sale through the MLS®, down from 4148 properties at the end of September last year.
BC Northern Real Estate Board president Court Smith said, “In the board region overall, there was a 1.28 per cent increase in sales and a 9.42 per cent decrease in the number of active listings. Real estate markets are local, of course, and while many markets, such as Terrace and Kitimat, have increased sales year over year; other markets have shown a decrease in the number of sales.
The economy in the north and north central regions of the province remains strong and the recent LNG announcement will hopefully renew confidence for consumers in the Peace region.
BC Northern real estate markets overall have been steady and doing well when compared to the southern areas of the province. Thanks to a strong economy, most markets in the Board area have been somewhat immune to the negative effects of the mortgage stress test apparent in the lower mainland; and while tight inventories have pushed up the prices in some areas, BC Northern remains an affordable market.”
Houston: To the end of September, 26 properties worth $4.8 million sold in the Houston area, compared with 38 properties worth $7.3 million in the same period last year. At the end of September, there were 54 properties of all types available for purchase through MLS® in the Houston area.
Smithers: As of Sept. 30, 202 properties worth $61.3 million changed hands in the Smithers area, compared with 217 properties worth $56.7 million in the first nine months of 2017. Half of the 83 single family homes sold so far this year, sold for less than $304,000 and these homes took, on average, 55 days to sell. Also changing hands this year were 25 parcels of vacant land, 51 homes on acreage, 12 manufactured homes in parks and 9 manufactured homes on land. As of Sept. 30, there were 160 properties of all types available through the MLS® in the Smithers area.
Burns Lake: So far this year 63 properties worth $9.2 million have been reported sold through MLS® compared to 76 properties worth $12 million in the first nine months of 2017. At the end of September, there were 95 properties of all types available for sale through the MLS® in the Burns Lake area.
Vanderhoof: REALTORS® assisted in the sale of 94 properties worth $20.1 million in the first nine months of the year compared with 90 properties worth $17.1 million in the same time last year. Half of the 41 single family homes sold so far this year, sold for less than $239,900 and these homes took, on average, 63 days to sell. Also changing hands were 17 parcels of vacant land and 15 homes on acreage. At the end of September, there were 118 properties of all types available through MLS® in the Vanderhoof area.
Fort St. James: 39 properties worth $7.8 million were reported sold to the end of September, compared to 44 properties worth $7.5 million in the same period last year. As of Sept. 30, there were 77 properties of all types available for purchase through MLS® in the Fort St. James area.