Real Estate Market Cooling, More Listings, Fewer Sales
By 250 News
Friday, July 04, 2008 03:04 PM
Prince George, B.C. - The Real estate market is showing signs of cooling.
The BC Northern Real Estate Board reports 2,570 sales through the MLS® (Multiple Listing Service®) in the first six months of the year, compared to 3,408 in the same period last year and 3,421 in 2006.
The value of these properties totalled $533.6 million compared to $625.7 million in 2007 and $502 million in 2006. As of June 30th there were 4,794 properties of all types available for sale through MLS®, up from 3,515 at this time last year.
President Willy Berger says it has become a buyers market "Giving all those people who were waiting to get into the market the opportunity to finally do so. The interest rates for mortgages still remain in the single digits, making home ownership more affordable than even a year ago. The economic outlook for northern BC continues to remain positive, even though the forest industry has had major adjustments. The mining industry and oil and gas exploration are reaching all time highs in this region."
There are 36% more properties available on MLS® in northern BC than there was a year ago, giving buyers for any type of property a good selection to choose from.
Here is the region by region breakdown:
FRASER FORT GEORGE REGION
Prince George: In the City of Prince George 693 properties worth $153 million have changed hands so far this year through MLS®, compared to 952 properties worth $197.2 million to June 30th, 2007. Half of the 466 single family homes sold so far this year, sold for less than $224,900 and took, on average 51 days to sell. In addition, 21 pieces of vacant land, 22 apartments, 53 townhouses, 34 manufactured homes in parks and a further 26 manufactured homes on land have changed hands within the city. As of June 30th there were 841 properties of all types available for sale through MLS®, compared 741 at this time last year.
Mackenzie: 15 properties worth $1.2 million have sold since the beginning of the year, compared to 27 properties worth $3.2 million to June 30th, 2007. There are 89 properties of all types available for purchase through the MLS® in the Mackenzie area.
CARIBOO REGION
100 Mile House and area: A total of 226 properties of all types, worth $51.5 million have been sold by REALTORS® in this area since January. This compares with 385 properties worth $68 million sold in the same period last year. Half of the single family homes on lots less than an acre in size sold for $247,500 or less and it took on average 85 days for these homes to sell. In addition, 72 pieces of vacant land, 49 homes on acreage, 11 manufactured homes in parks and 17 manufactured homes on land changed hands in the first half of 2008. As of June 30th there were 676 properties of all kinds available for sale through the MLS® - up from 404 last year.
Williams Lake: 218 properties have been sold so far this year by REALTORS® in the Williams Lake area compared with 295 in 2007. The value of these properties is $45.1 million ($54.7 million in 2007). Half of the 66 single family homes sold so far this year, sold for less than $227,000 and it took, on average 68 days for these homes to sell. In addition, 41 pieces of vacant land, 49 homes on acreage, 19 manufactured homes in parks and 21 manufactured homes on land have sold since January of this year. At the end of June there were 432 properties of all types available for sale in the Williams Lake area – up from 291 as of June 30th, 2007.
Quesnel: In the Quesnel area REALTORS® reported 177 sales worth $26.9 million, compared to 270 sales worth $37.5 million to June 30th of last year. Half of the 71 single family homes on lot sizes of less than an acre, sold for $168,500 and took, on average, 66 days to sell. In addition, 26 pieces of vacant land, 24 homes on acreage, 15 manufactured homes in parks and 21 manufactured homes on land also sold in the first six months of the year. As of June 30th there were 295 properties of all types available on the MLS® in the Quesnel area (298 in 2007).
NORTHWEST REGION
Prince Rupert: 87 properties worth $17.2 million changed hands through the MLS® in the Prince Rupert area this year, compared to 131 properties worth $23.7 million in the first half of 2007. The median price of the 63 single family homes sold was $185,000 – up from last year’s median of $152,000. On average it took 68 days for a single family home to sell – down from last year’s 104 days. At the end of June there were 247 properties of all types available for sale through MLS® in Prince Rupert, up from 172 properties a year ago.
Terrace: REALTORS® in Terrace have sold 169 properties worth $31.6 million so far this year, compared to 192 properties worth $27.8 million in the first half of 2007. Half of the 100 single family homes sold this year sold for less than $195,000 an, on average, it took 47 days for these homes to sell. In addition, 18 pieces of vacant land, 7 homes on acreage, 9 manufactured homes in parks and 13 manufactured homes on land changed hands so far this year. As of June 30th there were 302 properties of all types available for sale on the MLS® in the Terrace area, up from 204 properties at this time last year.
Kitimat: 82 properties worth $12 million have sold through the MLS® in Kitimat and area in the first half of 2008, up from 80 properties worth $9.6 million in the same period in 2007. Half of the 50 single family homes sold this year, sold for less than $148,000 and on average it took 54 days for these homes to sell. In addition, 13 duplexes, 8 townhouses and 4 manufactured homes have sold this year. At the end of June there were 114 properties of all types available for sale in Kitimat (91 in 2007).
BULKLEY VALLEY-OMENICA REGION
Houston: 20 properties worth $2.9 million have sold so far this year. As of June 30th there were 57 properties of all types available for purchase through MLS® in the Houston area.
Smithers: REALTORS® in the Smithers area reported 114 sales worth $24.8 million in the first 6 months of 2008, compared to 212 sales worth $31 million to June 30th, 2007. Of the 60 single family homes sold this year, half sold for less than $219,500 and took on average, 51 days to sell. In addition, 11 pieces of vacant land, 20 homes on acreage, 7 manufactured homes in parks and 6 manufactured homes on land have changed hands this year. As of June 30th there were 194 properties of all types available for sale through the MLS® in the Smithers area, up from 164 last year.
Burns Lake: 61 properties worth $5.5 million have changed hands since January 1st. The 17 single family homes that have sold took, on average, 105 days to sell. In addition 15 pieces of vacant land, 6 townhouses, 11 homes on acreage and 4 manufactured homes on land changed hands this year. At the end of June there were 153 properties of all types available for purchase on the MLS® in the Burns Lake area, up from 132 at June 30th of 2007.
Vanderhoof: REALTORS® in the Vanderhoof area have been responsible for the sale of 83 properties worth $15 million in the first half of 2008 compared with 96 properties worth $12.5 million last year. Half of the 31 single family homes on lots less than an acre in size that have sold, sold for less than $169,000 and took, on average, 48 days to sell. In addition, 12 pieces of vacant land, 21 homes on acreage and 9 manufactured homes on land have sold so far this year. At the end of June there were 129 properties of all types available for purchase on the MLS® in the Vanderhoof area (83 in 2007).
Fort St. James: 34 properties worth $3.4 million have sold since January 1st in the Fort St. James area, compared with 19 properties worth $1.2 million last year. At the end of June there were 75 properties available for sale in the area – up from 39 properties at this time last year.
NORTHERN REGION
Fort St. John: REALTORS® assisted in the sale of 388 properties worth $101.7 million in the first half of 2008, compared to 399 properties worth $100.2 million last year. The 188 single family homes sold so far this year had median selling price of $284,000 and took, on average, 69 days to sell. In addition, 41 pieces of vacant land, 41 duplexes, 29 homes on acreage, 24 manufactured homes in parks and a further 30 manufactured homes on land have sold so far this year. At the end of June there were 573 properties of all types available on the MLS® in the area – up from 396 as of June 30th, 2007.
Fort Nelson: 65 properties worth $12.7 million have sold since January 1st, compared to 66 properties worth $14 million in the same period last year. Half of the 32 single family homes that sold, sold for less than $230,000 and took, on average, 63 days to sell. In addition, 7 manufactured homes in parks and an additional 13 manufactured homes on land sold this year. As of June 30th there were 92 properties of all types for sale through MLS® in the Fort Nelson area, down from 129 at this time last year.
Cooling off forecast in real estate sector
Written by Citizen staff
Tuesday, 06 May 2008
In a forecast released Tuesday, the BCREB predicted the average price for a single-family home in the city will increase by three per cent during each of the next two years, to $248,000 and $256,000, respectively, compared to a 22-per-cent jump to $240,442 experienced in 2007.
Moreover, the number of units sold is expected to continue to decline, by 13 per cent to 950 sales in 2008 and five per cent to 900 in 2009, following a drop of nine per cent to 1,092 in 2007.
Multiply the average price by the units sold and the market for single family homes is predicted to drop by 10 per cent to $235 million in 2008 from $263 million in 2007 and to fall a further two per cent to $230 million in 2009.
Meanwhile, housing starts are forecast to drop five per cent over 2008 to 310 from 328 last year, when the total was up by three per cent. And over 2009, starts are expected to fall a further two per cent to 305.
Broken down further, starts on single-family homes are expected to fall by six per cent, to 270, from 288 in 2007, when the total rose by two per cent. And in 2009, the total is expected to fall a further four per cent to 260.
For multi-family units, starts are expected to remain the same in for 2008 at 40 and then rise to 45 in 2009, a 13-per-cent hike.
Prince George won't be the only community facing a slowdown -- the BCREA is predicting a provincewide moderation.
“Some weakness on the export side of the economy and eroding affordability will have an impact on housing demand over the next two years,” said BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir.
But he added that while the weak U.S. economy is negatively impacting the forest industry and tourism, "the B.C. economy is forecast to grow 2.5 per cent this year and 2.7 per cent in 2009, a higher rate of growth than most other provinces.
"Consumer spending, employment growth and net migration in the province are expected to remain robust and will continue to underpin housing demand through 2009," Muir said.
Housing starts down in April, according to CMHC
Written by Citizen Staff
Thursday, 08 May 2008
Starts on construction of new single detached homes in Prince George declined last month in comparison with the same month a year ago, according to the latest release from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
In April there were 16 starts on new single-family homes, down 20 per cent from the 20 recorded in April 2007, CMHC statistics show.
Year-to-date figures are also down.
Between Jan. 1 and April 30 of this year work began on a total of 44 single detached homes, down 33.3 per cent from 66 starts on single-family homes during the same four months of 2007.
Housing values up 84% from 2003
Written by PAUL STRICKLAND
Citizen staff
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Prince George weakest performer in real estate survey
The average house price in the Prince George region has increased 84 per cent since 2003, according to a study by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.
However, owning a home in the North still consumes a much smaller percentage of household income than Vancouver, according to the fifth annual Housing Affordability Study released Wednesday.
The average price of a home in this city declined from just under $150,000 at the end of 1997 to around $120,000 in 2001 and then soared to just under $250,000 at the end of 2007.
The BCNREB commissioned the affordability study after RBC Financial Group released the results of its cross-Canada housing affordability study. The latter study showed B.C. was the least affordable place to buy a house in the country. However, the BCNREB finds that the costs in northern B.C. are about 31.7 per cent of family income compared to an average of 68.5 per cent for the entire province.
One way to determine the portion of an average income required to purchase a home in different regions is to refer to the housing affordability index. The index estimates the portion of pre-tax median household income needed to cover mortgage costs, municipal taxes and fees and utilities for single-family homes. For 2007 the Housing Affordability Index for northern B.C. was 31.7 per cent compared with 73.8 per cent for Vancouver.
There are considerable variations with the region. The housing affordability index for Kitimat is just 15.4 per cent, while home ownership in 100 Mile House consumes the highest proportion of of median household income, 51.8 per cent, of all the communities in the northern two-thirds of the province served by the BCNREB.
Prince George weakest performer in real estate survey
Written by MARK NIELSENCitizen staff
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Prince George is the weak spot in a major realtor's semi-annual survey of real estate prices.
Century 21's 2008 spring national house price survey, released Wednesday, showed the price of a typical bungalow in lower College Heights dipping two per cent year over year to $219,900, showed no change for a townhouse in the Valleyview subdivision at $190,000, and a scant two-per-cent increase to $266,900 for a two-story house in the Heritage subdivision.
Almost every one of the other 21 subdivisions in the survey representing communities across B.C. showed significantly stronger increases.
The numbers clash somewhat with those from the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board for the first quarter of 2008. They show the average price of a single family home for Prince George as a whole at $246,839, up about six per cent from the typical price over the same period last year.
However, Prince George real estate agents sold 193 single-detached houses over that period, down from the 243 in 2007.
Prince George real estate agent Gary Shannon, a director on the BCNREB, conceded that the market is softening because of the forestry slowdown following an upward trend that has seen the average house price rise 84 per cent since 2003.
"We're not going to see some tremendous rises this year I don't think," he said.
However, he believes stronger growth should return within the next 18 months to two years.
By then, Shannon predicts cargo jets will be landing at the Prince George Airport -- the runway extension and fuel apron are scheduled for completion in October -- the container terminal at Prince Rupert will be taking on more work and hopefully the ongoing mineral exploration will be translating into some new mines.
"These things don't happen overnight, they take a little bit of time," he said.
In contrast to previous forestry downturns, Shannon said this one hasn't struck the city as hard.
"The forest industry is still important but it's not having near the impact it had 10 or 15 years ago," he said. "There are too many other things offsetting the forest economy right now, we're just not going to be moving forward quite as strong, that's all."
B.C. Real Estate Board economist Cameron Muir offered much the same comments as Shannon, saying single-digit growth is predicted for Prince George until late 2009 when the U.S. new home market should begin to turn around.
He said an increase in listings may be playing a role. He didn't have numbers specifically for Prince George but for northern B.C. as a whole he said listings are up 34 per cent compared to 24 per cent for the province.
"Homebuyers have much greater selection in the marketplace and there are much less chances for multiple offers," he said. "With a lot of competition among home sellers, that provides much less upward pressure on home prices."
The B.C. northern market is in a "balanced condition" Muir added.
"More of an equilibrium between demand and supply and when we look across the province we're seeing that materialize in most markets," he said.
As a result, prices in most markets in the province will be increasing by single digits rather than the double digits of the last few years, he said.
A BCNREB study release last week showed put the cost of buying a house in Prince George at roughly 32 per cent of family income, compared to 74 per cent in Vancouver and 69 per cent for the province as a whole
House prices up, sales down
Written by PAUL STRICKLANDCitizen staff
Thursday, 03 April 2008
House prices in Prince George continued their trend upward during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, according to a report released Thursday by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.However, the number of sales of single-family homes during the first three months of 2008 declined from 2007.Between Jan. 1 and March 31, real estate agents sold 193 single-detached houses, down from the 243 in 2007. Yet the average price of a home sold during the first quarter of this year was $246,839, up about six per cent from the typical price of $232,951 last year.The average price for the first quarter of this year was also up almost three per cent from the average for 2007. Prices varied in part according to the sector of Prince George in which the home was sold.In the west part of the city, the median price of the 54 single-family homes that were sold on the Multiple Listing Service during the first quarter of this year was $211,000. In the area east of the Bypass, the 39 single-family houses that sold during the first three months of this year had a median price of $171,000.In the Hart area, 40 single-family homes sold with a median price of $286,500. In the southwest section, 51 houses have sold since Jan. 1, with a median price of $279,000.In all areas it took on average 45 to 48 days for these homes to sell. At the end of March there were 779 properties of all types on the MLS within Prince George city limits.Throughout the region served by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, sales of properties of all types through the MLS during the first quarter of 2008 were down by 21 per cent compared to the same period last year.To the end of March 2008 a total of 1,051 properties with a value of $219,611,298 changed hand in the region covering much of the northern two-thirds of B.C.However, real estate agents say there may be some good news for buyers because there are more properties to choose from. As of March 31 there were 3,604 properties of all types available for sale, up from 2,858 at this time last year."Spring is here for most of our communities," board president Willy Berger said. "The real estate market is getting active."Buyers are out looking and sellers are taking this opportunity to market their properties," he said. "Compared to the first quarter of 2007, buyers have more properties to choose from and a few more days to make their decision."With the current interest rates remaining low, we are anticipating a strong spring market."In Mackenzie, three properties worth $308,000 have sold since Jan. 1, compared to 13 properties valued at $1.38 million during the first quarter of last year. There are 46 properties of all types available for purchase through the MLS in the Mackenzie area.In the Quesnel district realtors reported 63 sales worth $8.1 million in the first three months of 2008, compared to 105 sales worth $13.6 million between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2007.
Home Sales Slip in February
Vancouver, BC – March 17, 2008. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC rose 4.5 per cent to $3.26 billion in February, compared to the same month in 2007. Residential unit sales dipped 9.8 per cent to 6,822 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province reached $478,172 in January, up 15.8 per cent from February 2007.
“BC home sales fell for the second consecutive month, marking the slowest start to a year since 2003,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “While it’s still too early to call a trend, fewer home sales and an increase in active listings may be pulling the BC housing market toward balanced conditions.”
“Strong employment and wage gains over the last year continue to underpin housing demand,” said Muir. The number of unit sales recorded in the month was 13 per cent above the February average from 1998 to 2007. “However, continued erosion in housing affordability may be taking a toll on the ability-to-pay for some buyers.”
Additionally, a weak US economy and lower demand for BC lumber is negatively impacting BC’s forestry industries and local resource communities, while current economic volatility may also be impacting the confidence for some would-be buyers.
For more information, please contact:
Cameron MuirChief EconomistDirect: 604.742.2780Mobile: 778.229.1884
Email:
cmuir@bcrea.bc.ca
