Real estate sales in the Powell River region in March 2021 greatly surpassed sales from the previous year.
“Demand for real estate in our local market continues to move at frantic speeds, with active inventory already depleted,” said Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board president Neil Frost. “New listings that hit the market are being bought up as soon as the for sale signs are posted.”
In terms of residential sales, for single-family homes, in March 2021, there were 37 units sold, valued at $22,858,750. This compares to 20 units sold in March 2020, valued at $9,207,300.
For mobile and manufactured homes, in March 2021, there were five units sold, valued at $808,900, compared to three units sold in March 2020, valued at $631,000.
In the condos, apartments and duplexes category, there were four units sold in March 2021, valued at $958,000, compared to two units, valued at $468,250, in March 2020.
Total residential sales for March 2021 were 46 units, valued at $24,625,650, compared to 25 units, valued at $10,306,550 in March 2020.
“Competition between buyers and double-digit price growth don’t look to be slowing down as we hit the spring market without a lot more supply coming online,” said Frost.
In the non-residential category, there were nine parcels of vacant land sold, valued at $2,153,950 in March 2021, compared to one unit, valued at $15,000, in March 2020. In the industrial, commercial and institutional category, in March 2021, there were four units sold, valued at $1,116,076, compared to no units in March 2020.
Totals for non-residential in March 2021 show 13 units sold, valued at $3,270,026, compared to one unit, valued at $15,000, in March 2020.
Grand totals show that in March 2021, there were 59 units sold, valued at $27,895,676, compared to 26 units, valued at $10,321,550, in March 2020.
Statistics show there were 41 active listings in residential and 32 active listings in non-residential in March 2021.
In terms of the average selling price in March 2021 for a residential single-family home, the figure is $617,804, with an average of 55 days on the market. In March 2020, the average selling price was $460,365, with an average of 69 days on the market.
The median selling price in March 2021 was $560,000, compared to $462,500 in March 2020.
Frost said the average family home was in the $425,000 to $450,000 range but now it’s more like $450,000 to $475,000 range. He said there was some high-end inventory sold during March 2021, which likely bumped up the average selling price for the month.
There is still a shortage of inventory for sale in the Powell River area, according to Frost. He said when properties come on the market, they are being jumped upon.
“So far, April hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down,” he added. “We keep hitting new highs for sales on prices.”
The last time there were real estate sales comparable to March 2021 was in March 2007. The record was set in March 2005, when 70 units were sold.
Provincial sales increase 123 per cent
Trends being seen throughout the Powell River region are reflected provincially. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports a total of 15,073 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in March 2021, an increase of 123.3 per cent over March 2020 and a new all-time record for monthly BC home sales.
The average MLS residential price in BC was $947,707, a 20.4 per cent increase from $787,032 recorded in March 2020. Total sales dollar volume was $14.3 billion, a 168.9 per cent increase from last year.
“Home sales in the province shattered the previous record, led by markets in the Lower Mainland,” stated BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson, in a media release. “While mortgage rates have risen in recent months and a modest tightening of mortgage regulations is on the horizon, market activity is expected to remain very strong through the spring.”
