Home sales for the qathet region showed a big decline from December 2021 to December 2022, according to Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board statistics.
“We were looking at a steady downward trend in sales activity heading into the end of the year so we knew we would cap off 2022 on a subdued note,” said Neil Frost, the board’s president. “On an annual basis, sales came in below the very strong levels of the past two years and were back in line with where they stood for 2019.
“Average prices have come down from their peak and overall supply is up to more normal levels, both of which bode well for buyers who are still mulling a return to the market. There’s been a steady stream of new listings over the past year and would-be buyers who sidelined themselves after the series of interest rate hikes are now in a better position to rejoin the market.”
In the single-family homes category, in December 2022, there were nine units sold, valued at $4,194,800, compared with 19 units sold in December 2021, valued at $11,630,060.
Mobiles and manufactured home sales in December 2022 amounted to one sale, valued at $337,450, compared to five sales, valued at $1,592,332 in December 2021.
For condos, apartments and duplexes, in December 2022, there was one sale, valued at $349,900, compared to four sales, valued at $2,501,900 in December 2021.
Total residential sales in December 2022 amounted to 11, valued at $4,882,150, compared to 28 sales, valued at $15,724,292 in December 2021.
On the non-residential side, there was one parcel of vacant land sold in December 2022, valued at $300,000, compared to eight parcels, valued at $2,287,300 in December 2021.
There was one industrial, commercial and institutional sale, valued at $2,600, in December 2021. There were no such sales in December 2022.
Totals for the non-residential category show one sale, valued at $300,000, in December 2022, compared to nine sales, valued at $2,289,900 in December 2021.
The grand totals for all sales indicate 12 in December 2022, valued at $5,182,150, compared to 37, valued at $18,014,192 in December 2021.
Average single-family home price in December 2022 was $466,089, compared to $612,108 in December 2021.
There were 19 new residential listings in December 2022, with a total of 121 active listings at the end of the month. Total active listings, including non-residential, amounted to 181 at the end of December 2022.
According to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association, home sales were 51.2 per cent below the five-year average and 47.4 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of December 2022.
“2022 could not match last year’s record pace,” said BC Real Estate Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson. “While strong momentum from the end of 2021 carried through to the first quarter of the year, the pace and degree of the Bank of Canada interest rate tightening ultimately precipitated a dramatic shift in the provincial housing market.”
The average MLS residential price in BC in December 2022 was $911,753, an 11.5 per cent decrease from $1.03 million recorded in December 2021. Total sales dollar volume was $3.2 billion, a 55.2 per cent decline from the same time last year.
