Single-family homes have sold for $500,925 on average so far this year, according to B.C. Northern Real Estate Board figures issued Tuesday.
The figure is still below the $530,900 reached by the same point last year, but is well up from $484,406 as of the end of Q1 2023.
The number of sales stood at 330, well down from 479 by midway through 2022.
Activity, as measured by average price multiplied by number of sales, stood at $165.3 million, compared to $254.3 million by midpoint 2022.
Coinciding with ongoing hikes in interest rates, the average price and number of sales had been on a steady decline since the second quarter of 2022 when the average price for that period peaked at $536,179 on 209 sales for $112.1 million.
For Q3 2022, average price declined to $521,904 on 203 sales for $105.9 million and for Q4 2022, the figures dropped further to $509,982 and 137 sales for $69.6 million. The market bottomed out during Q1 2023, when the average price stood at $484,406 on 107 sales, working out to $51.8 million of activity.
For strictly the second quarter of 2023, average price stood at $508,851 on 223 sales, for $113.5 million, according to an analysis by the Citizen.
The latest numbers reflected a trend seen across the region and the province, according to BCNREB, but the organization is hedging its bets.
"Despite this recovery, there is the possibility of a softer summer, as rates are likely to remain high and continue sapping demand," BCNREB said in an accompanying statement.
"The long-predicted economic slowdown of 2023 has so far failed to materialize, but we expect a softening in the broader economy in the second half of the year, which could further weigh on housing markets."
The Bank of Canada raised its prime rate on Wednesday.
Looking at properties of all types, 542 properties worth $252.5 million have changed hands so far this year, compared with 803 properties worth $369.7 million in
the first six months of last year.
In the western part of the city, the median price of the 111 single-family homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service was $455,000.
In the area east of the bypass, the 67 single-family homes that sold had a median price of $375,000.
In the northern part of the city, 61 single-family homes sold with a median price of $520,000.
The 91 single-family homes that sold in the southwest section of the city had a median sale price of $570,000.
At the end of June, there were 704 properties of all types available for purchase through the MLS in Prince George.
