Home sales in Northern BC have seen a 41.5% spike on a year-over-year basis according to the BC Real Estate Association.
Last month, 249 units sales were tallied, a large jump from February of 2023 when only 176 homes changed hands.
BCREA Economist, Ryan McLaughlin told Vista Radio while most home buyers have their eyes on a potential Bank of Canada rate cut in June, five-year fixed mortgage rates have already taken a tumble.
“Since expectations are that the bank will be cutting around June, that means these five-year fixed mortgage rates have already been coming down. It’s kind of funny we are all talking about when rates will come down, but when we are talking about the rate that matters, the fixed-mortgage rates, they have already been coming down.”
“It is interesting to see that five-year fixed rates have already decided to come down in the territory of about 100 basis points from their peak and we’re still in a relatively cool market. It feels psychologically talking to realtors, they say they want the bank to make a move and then it feels like this permanent change of direction on rates.”
The average home price in our region is a shade under $402,000 – in Prince George it remains a bit higher at 500-grand.
In addition, the provincial average sat at $987,798 at the end of February.
Active listings in the region remained flat over the past calendar year. Last month, there 1,423 listings within the Northern Real Estate Board – in February of 2023, the volume of listings came in at 1,438.
So far this year, year-to-date sales in the north sit at 410, at the same time last year (February 2023) only 333 homes changed hands – an increase of 23%.
During the BCREA’s first quarter forecast, it is projected our region will post 37 hundred unit sales in 2024, a 1.5% increase from 2023 – in addition, the average price for a single-family home is predicted to reach $420,000 – a small spike when compared to the year prior.
The provincial association believes the rebound this year will set the stage for a robust 2025. The agency stated due to pent-up demand from strong population growth, and favourable demographics even a small drop could make a huge difference.
Provincial home sales are expected to spike by 7.8% this year to 78,775 transactions before jumping to 86,475 in 2025.
-Files by Brendan Pawliw-MyPGNow
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