The market for single-family homes is on the upswing according to the latest numbers from the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.
As of the end of March, 185 single-family homes exchanged hands for an average $293,577 each, working out to $54.3 million worth of activity.
That's up from 167 homes sold for $275,914 each on average, amounting to $46.1 million for the first quarter of 2015, which in turn, was up slightly from 165 homes sold for $269,055 on average, or $44.4 million.
Much of the bump occurred in the west where the median price of the 53 single family homes sold on the Multiple Listing Service was $260,000, up from $234,000 last year, and east of Central Street, where the 34 single family homes that sold had a median value of $215,000, up from $180,000.
In contrast, the 51 homes that sold in the southwest had a median price of $312,000, down from $355,000.
In the Hart, the 43 single family homes sold had a median price of $289,000, the same as last year at this time.
"We had a rash of sales in the 400s and the upper 400s last year with a lot of the new homes but I think a lot of the focus is staying away from the new homes now," said BCNREB director and Prince George real estate agent Bob Quinlan.
"It's not a case of where the market is dropping, it's just that people have decided to spend their money in an area where they think they get more value. We've got a lot of people downsizing too, they don't need two-three-thousand square foot homes anymore, people are getting a lot more practical."
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing numbers released this week, the year-to-date number of starts on single family homes in Prince George and area has declined to 23 from 34 over the same period last year.
But conversely, the number of building permits taken out at city hall for such projects rose to 29 year-to-date, more than double the 13 taken out by the same point last year albeit just one less than the 30 issued by the end of March 2014.
Concurrently, the total value of construction in that sector stood at $7.4 million year-to-date, compared to $4.2 million and $7.7 million for the first quarters of 2015 and 2014 respectively.
Leah Mayer, also a BCNREB director and real estate agent, suggested there is a lag between the CMHC numbers and the city's and starts should be on the upswing in the months to come.
"There are still lots of builders buying lots and getting ready to go," she said.
Looking at properties of all kinds, 281 worth $76.3 million changed hands, up from 244 sold and$61.5 million by the same point last year according to the BCNREB.
And looking at construction of all types, 71 permits for $31.6 million have been issued so far this year, up from 46 permits for $13.1 million by the end of March 2015 and 90 permits for $17.5 million by the end of March 2014.
However, the figure for the first quarter of this year is bolstered significantly by the 173-unit Riverbend seniors housing facility set to go at 1975 Oak St., on the site of Ron Brent Park. It's accounting for $20 million of the total value seen so far this year.
Without that project, the total value of construction would have been lower than seen in the past two years.
