Northern Lights shine bright
Brian Morton
Sun
The Northern Lights Real Estate Board represents one of the smallest population bases in B.C. But it’s also an area that’s red hot.
Just ask Ryan MacIvor, a Dawson Creek resident who bought his first home there last July, just one day after the bungalow was put up for sale for $195,000.
“There were five or six other couples in there, and there were multiple offers,” MacIvor said in an interview. “We [MacIvor and his fiance] paid above list, though not significantly. But it’s par for the course everywhere here. It’s a robust economy in the whole Peace region, and people are moving up here and investing.
“We’re happy with the house, and the price we purchased it for.”
According to a survey released Thursday by the B.C. Real Estate Association, home sales in April rebounded across B.C. for the first time in 10 months, with overall prices rising 11 per cent and sales volumes up 17 per cent.
The most astonishing highlight of the survey, however, was that residential real estate prices in the region known as Northern Lights — which includes Dawson Creek, Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge — rose 75.8 per cent during the past 12 months.
That’s nearly triple the increase in the province’s second-hottest region, the South Okanagan, which saw prices rise 28.5 per cent over the same period.
Local RE/MAX realtor Brenda Banham expects that Tumbler Ridge’s current 120 listings alone should sell very quickly — especially the 65 single-family homes.
“If we continue the [oil, gas and coal mining] activity, and the demand [for housing], the houses should be sold within a month,” said Banham, who is also president of the region’s real estate board. “There’s a lot of people moving in and buying us up.
“It’s a hot market. There’s a lot of oil, gas and coal mining activity throughout northern B.C. 2006 was a little slower [than years previous], but the activity’s moving up again.”
But Banham said there are other factors at play besides the strong northern economy.
“The biggest thing is we [still] have the lowest prices in the province. That’s a big drawing card. We’re getting people from all over — from Alberta, the 100 Mile House area, even Victoria.”
According to the survey, B.C. home prices rose by an average of 11 per cent during the last 12 months, with the average price of a home reaching $431,945 as of April, up from $388,889 during the same month last year.
Besides Northern Lights and South Okanagan, hotspots included Kamloops, which saw prices rise 24.1 per cent to an average $270,244, and Kootenay, which saw prices increase 19.2 per cent to $252,236.
The survey noted that the average price of a home in Greater Vancouver rose 12.2 per cent to $565,375. The Fraser Valley saw prices rise 8.9 per cent to $427,481.
According to the report, residential sales volumes rose to $4.2 billion in April, up 17 per cent compared to the same month in 2006. Residential unit sales increased five per cent to 9,677 over the same period.
“This signifies a strong month, but it’s too early to tell if this is an upswing,” said Cameron Muir, the B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist. “Prices are not climbing as rapidly as in the past.”
Muir said contributing factors are a favourable labour market and a 25-per-cent increase in the number of homes for sale across B.C.
“Provincial economic growth continues to reinforce housing demand,” added Muir. “However, affordability remains the largest constraint to home ownership in B.C.”
Muir agreed that Northern Lights is benefitting from its resource base.
But he also singled out Kamloops as doing well. “Kamloops has been discovered over the past year by many recreation and retiree buyers because of its relative affordability.”
Blaine Nicholson, managing broker for RE/MAX in Dawson Creek said the local market is brisk, but they’re not seeing as many multiple offers on homes as they saw last year.
“There’s a lot of natural resource extraction in the area. We get a lot of investors because of the increase in activity.”
NORTHERN REAL ESTATE HOT
The Northern Lights region of B.C. (which includes Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, and Tumbler Ridge) saw real estate prices jump more than 75 per cent in the past year, with an average residence now selling for well over $200,000. Here are average residential prices (as of April) in the various regions of the province, with the percentage change since the same month of 2006:
Northern Lights $218,264 75.8%
South Okanagan $319,242 28.5%
Kamloops $270,244 24.1%
Kootenay $252,236 19.2%
B.C. North $188,593 15.8%
Okanagan $370,687 12.2%
Greater Vancouver $564,375 12.2%
Victoria $472,460 11.5%
Chilliwack $294,906 11.0%
Vancouver Island $312,030 10.5%
Fraser Valley $427,481 8.9%
Powell River $189,004 2.5%
B.C. Total $431,945 11.1%
Source: BC Real Estate Association
© The Vancouver Sun 2007