Real Estate transaction values almost triple in Prince Rupert over the last year

The BC Northern Real Estate Board has released its figures for the last year and the number of MLS transactions and housing prices increased in the Prince Rupert area in the March 06 to March 07 number crunching.

60 properties worth $12.5 million sold through the MLS® this year, compared to 47 properties worth $4.7 million by the end of March last year.

The opinion 250 website has a recap of all areas of the Northern Board, including a breakdown on the Northwest real estate developments.

Real Estate Market Remains Strong
By 250 News
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 05:45 PM
The Real Estate Market is still strong in northern B.C.

The BC Northern Real Estate Board reports the value of properties sold in the first quarter of 2007 has increased 35% over the same period last year.

The actual number of properties sold throughout the region is only up slightly from the same period last year. The number of units sold in the first three months of 2007 was 1327, last year, 1298 had been sold during the same period.

President Glen Holling says different areas have different challenges " Oil and gas exploration in the north has slowed, mining activity in the Williams Lake and Smithers area has increased, and some areas are experiencing growth thanks to the construction of the container port in Prince Rupert. Mortgage rates continue to be reasonable and all pundits call for a continuation of these historically low rates. We are cautiously optimistic that all our markets will do as well as last year or better.”

Here are the highlights:

NORTHWEST REGION

Prince Rupert: 60 properties worth $12.5 million sold through the MLS® this year, compared to 47 properties worth $4.7 million by the end of March last year. The accompanying chart shows comparable prices for single family homes over last year, but the median price this year (half sold for less) for the 47 homes sold was $145,000. At month end there were 126 properties of all types for sale, compared to 142 on March 31st last year.

Terrace: 62 properties of all types worth $7.6 million have been sold so far this year. Last year in the same period 73 properties with a total value of $9.3 million sold. Half of the 30 single family homes that sold through the MLS® since January (see chart following) have sold for $142,000 or less. At month end there were 173 properties in all categories for sale, up from 130 on March 31st last year.

Kitimat: 26 properties worth $3.2 million have sold since January 1st, compared to 37 properties (all classifications) worth $3.3 million last year. The median price for houses in Kitimat was $109,000 (see chart following for average prices) . At month end there were 74 properties of all types available for purchase, compared to 60 last year.