Colin Breadner's Prince George Real Estate Blog

Investing in Prince George

Interior offers quality, affordability
Short-term opportunity for first-time buyers in Prince George

Paul Luke
The Province
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Initiatives Prince George's Gerry Offet says prices are cheaper than those in rival markets.
Potential homebuyers appalled by prices in Metro Vancouver and Victoria would be smart to cast their gaze at cheaper Interior markets, a new report shows.

The province's most expensive cities for first-time buyers, based on price per square foot, are Vancouver and Victoria, Century 21 Canada said yesterday.

B.C.'s most accessible markets for first-time buyers this winter are the smaller Interior cities of Prince George, Trail and Castlegar, the real-estate firm said.

In Vancouver, would-be buyers are staring at a pricetag of $284,900 for a 611-square-foot condo, with one bedroom and one bathroom, in the West End near English Bay and Stanley Park, Century 21 said.

That amounts to $466 per square foot.

If you want something pricier, you could spring for a 412-square-foot condo in downtown Vancouver, with one bedroom and one bathroom, for $281,000, or $682 per square foot.

As for Victoria, a 1,000-square-foot condo in the Gorge area of Saanich with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, will ding you $260,000, or $260 per square foot.

On the other hand, a first-time bungalow in Trail -- 800 square feet with three bedrooms and one bathroom -- costs $170,000, or $213 per square foot.

"In Prince George, a typical first-time home is a 1,170-square-foot bungalow on a 6,970-square-foot lot on Fern Crescent, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, for $221,000, or $189 per square foot," Century 21 said.

Initiatives Prince George president Gerry Offet says there's a short-term opportunity for first-time buyers in the Interior city of 77,500.

Housing prices have been climbing at 17 to 20 per cent a year for the past two years but are still cheaper than those in rival markets such as Trail and Kamloops, he said.

"It's very affordable," Offet added. "We've still got quite a ways to go before getting to parity with competing markets."

A recent survey found that average first-time homebuyers in Prince George pay 28 per cent of their gross family income on accommodation, Offet said.

That compares with 78 per cent in Metro Vancouver, he said.

Are there any other reasons besides affordability to consider buying that first home in Prince George?

"Quality of life," Offet said. "You aren't spending two or three hours a day commuting to and from work. You're spending 20 or 30 minutes."

Vancouver's investment community has been quicker than potential homebuyers to recognize the opportunities in Prince George, Offet said.

Lower Mainland investors have been buying multi-family units and apartment blocks for the past two years, he said.

Century 21 said B.C. homebuyers are embracing condos, townhouses and other multi-family dwellings and turning away from single-family homes.

In B.C., the proportion of homeowners in single-family homes fell to 63 per cent in 2006 from 74 per cent in 1996, Century 21 said, citing Statistics Canada data.

"In Vancouver, the trend was even more pronounced. The proportion of homeowners in single-family houses declined from 61 per cent to 49 per cent since 2001," it said.

pluke@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Province 2007

posted by Colin @ 2:15 PM