BCNREB report finds Sales and Listings drops for Prince Rupert real estate in first six months of 2019

The Northern BC Real Estate Board has delivered their six month check up on the state of real estate and for Prince Rupert, the story remains one of slower sales compared to one year ago and recent times previous.

Decreases in sales make for the narrative in a number of communities for the most part as does a reduction in available listings, though the returns to sellers are holding their own through the first six months of the year.

Of particular note for the Northwest is a still somewhat robust realty picture for the Terrace/Kitimat region which has benefited from recent industrial developments., w
“Many of the communities in our Board region saw a decrease in number of sales and number of listings. Overall the sales activity has decreased by 7.64%, and the number of active listings has increased by 5.55%.” -- BCNREB President Leah Mayer on the nature of the realty market in Northern BC for the first six months of 2019

When it comes to selling homes, those putting their property up for sale in Terrace and Smithers were finding the quickest results, with it only taking 39 days on average to close a deal in Terrace,

The review of communities across the Northwest looks as follows:

For Prince Rupert  89 properties worth $23.5 million have been reported sold through MLS in Prince Rupert so far this year, compared to 113 properties worth $31.2 million from the end of June of 2018.

The median price of the 65 single family homes that sold was $263,500 down from $278,040 level that was recorded at the end of March. On average it is taking homes 124 days to sell in the Prince Rupert market.

As of  June 30th there were 189 properties of all types available for purchase through the MLS option in the area.

The Terrace region, while showing some elements of slowdown, remained strong overall in the Northwest, with 134 properties worth $45.6 million sold in the first six months of 2019, compared to 173 properties worth $49.6 million in the same period last year.

Half of the 76 single family homes that sold, sold for less than $386,500. On average it took those homes 39 days to sell. 

In addition to the single family homes, 12 parcels of vacant land, 7 half-duplexes and 11 homes on acreage changed hands in the Terrace area from January through June.

At the end of June, there were 262 properties of all types available for purchase through MLS in the Terrace area.

Kitimat has seen sales slow a bit since the burst of sales recorded late last year and earlier in 2019.

However, revenues from sales have show significant gains from recent years as the Kitimat economy continues to heat up amid plans for the LNG Canada project and other industrial investments in the region.

 In the first six months of 2019,  71 properties worth $37.7 million had been sold through MLS to the end of June, compared to  95 properties worth $22.7 million at this time last year.

Half of the 42 single family homes sold so far this year sold for less than $390,000 and on average it takes 75 days to sell a home in Kitimat.

At the end of June, there were 152 properties of all types available for purchase in the Kitimat area.

Heading east, Smithers continued to be an active market for the region, with 113 sales reported with a value of 35.3 million dollars to June 30th, that makes for a slight dip in sales but provides for near similar values from one year ago, when 125 sales brought in 37 million dollars.

Half  of the 53 single family holds sold so far this year sold for less than $265,000 with 42 days the average amount of time before the sales closed.

In addition to the single family homes 12 parcels of vacant land and 26 homes on acreage exchanged hands in the first six months of 2019.

As of the end of June, there were 133 properties of all types available in the the Smithers area through MLS.

A snapshot of the Average Selling prices across Northern BC to September of this year looks as follows:

Selling prices for real estate across Northern BC
from the BC Northern Real Estate Board

(click to enlarge)

The full review of the entire Northern region, including an expansive overview of the largest city in the north in Prince George can be found here.

For items related to the real estate sector on the North Coast see our archive page here.

As well, a look at our weekly real estate listings is delivered to the blog every Monday morning, when we offer up our Real Estate Tracker reviewing the ten listings asking the highest amounts from the city's two realtors.

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