With Christmas fast approaching, one might think the Prince George real estate market is slowing down.
Not so, says new realtor Marc Posselt, who was caught a little off guard by the good market.
“I thought it was going to be slow, so I added few things to my schedule,” he says.
And he’s not the only realtor who is having a busy December as there seems to be movement in the market.
Posselt says the lack of snow and warm temperatures, at least last week, probably help.
“It’s maybe unusual, but it’s good for us,” he said.
Posselt says Prince George is definitely a seller’s market right now.
“It depends on the property, but there is less inventory,” he says. “That means buyers are forced to make a decision quicker. New listings sometimes get jumped on right away.”
The new Boardwalk Properties realtor says they are seeing a lot of people buying from out of town, rather than local residents upgrading their homes. There is a good mix of properties that are selling, he says, but townhouses are definitely moving.
“Townhouses are selling faster, especially if they’re in a good location,” he says. “Those go quick.”
With the pipeline going in and with the prices in Vancouver not very affordable, Prince George will continue to have a good real estate market into 2019, he says.
The BC Northern Real Estate Board reported the average house sale price (single detached) for October 2018 was $328,678 with 83 units sold in Prince George. For October 2017, the average house sale price was $322,118 with 87 units sold. The average house sale price has increased two per cent when compared to the same month last year.
When comparing new houses sold, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) year-to-date data for Prince George indicate that 242 new units sold in 2018 compared to 2017 when 95 new units sold in the same time frame; this is an increase of 152.1 per cent.
Posselt joined Boardwalk Properties last January when the company recruited four people who wanted to become realtors and got his licence in August.
“I did some research about what an agent does, realized it involves skills I’ve had all my life,” he says. “I was the first one who made it through, it’s exciting to be in on the ground floor.”