Monday, April 07, 2008

As the sales slow, the options grow


As we reported on this here blog on Thursday, the figures for the first quarter of 2008 are in for the real estate markets of the North British Columbia.

A trend of slowing sales, but growing listings marking the far western end of the Northern BC Real Estate Boards wide swath of land.

And real estate being real estate, it's always best to be positive, eh, so slowing sales mean more time for lookie loos to find that dream home, hopefully at a mutually beneficial price to vendor and vendee...

The Daily News captures the moment with their front page story from Monday's paper.


REAL, ESTATE MARKET SLOWING BUT BUSY SEASON SET TO START
More homes for sale locally means extra choice for would-be buyers
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 07, 2008

Page One

The real estate market is starting to loosen up a bit in Northern B.C., with an increasing number of properties on the market for buyers to choose from.

Willy Berger, president of the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, noted that as of March 31 there were 3,604 properties of all types available for sale in the North, up from 2,858 this time last year.

"Spring is here in most of our communities. The real estate market is getting active. Buyers are out looking and sellers are taking this opportunity to market their properties. Compared to the first quarter of 2007, buyers have more properties to choose from and a few more days to make their decision," he said.

In Prince Rupert, the number of properties available for sale was 167, up from 126 at the of March 2007.

In addition, it appears that sales have also slowed.

Across Northern B.C., in the first quarter of 2008, sales of properties of all types were down by 21 per cent compared to the same period last year. To the end of March, 2008, a total of 1,051 properties with a value of $219,611,298 have changed hands in the area serviced by the BC Northern Real Estate Board.

"With the current interest rates remaining low, we are anticipating a strong spring market," said Berger.

In the first quarter of 2008, 47 properties in the Prince Rupert area, including the Queen Charlotte Islands, changed hands. They were worth $9.5 million. This compares to 60 properties worth $12.5 in the first quarter of 2007. The median price of the single family homes sold was $144,500 - almost the same as last year's median of $145,000. On average, it took 68 days for a single-family home to sell.

Sales in Terrace are actually up so far this year. To date, realtors have sold 65 properties worth $12.7 million, compared to 62 properties worth $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Half of the 42 single-family homes sold this year had a median price of $200,000 or less, and on average, these homes sold in 52 days. As of March 31, there were 188 properties available for sale in Terrace, up from 173 properties available at this time last year.

In Kitimat, sales increased in the first quarter of this year. Thirty six properties worth $4.4 million sold in the first quarter, up from 26 properties worth $3.2 million in the first three months of 2007. Half of the 21 single-family homes sold for less than $139,000 and on average, these homes took 61 days to sell.

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