Residential real estate sales in the Powell River region in August 2020 were significantly higher than those of the previous year.
According to Powell River-Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board president Neil Frost, August featured a significant year-over-year gain and marked a new sales record for that month.
“Home sales in the region continued to rebound in August, smashing the previous record for the month set back in 2005,” said Frost. “New supply is also on the rise but is not keeping pace with demand. As a result, the market has tightened significantly and the imbalance between supply and demand is putting upward pressure on prices in the region.”
In August 2020, the average single-family home sold for $464,655 and was on the market for an average of 60 days. In 2019, the average single-family home sold for $394,763 and was on the market for 70 days.
Frost said August statistics regarding vacant land speak to how busy the market has been, and that more people are turning to building. Some people coming from out of town want new properties or are not finding what they want, according to Frost.
He said the median house price of $419,000 is probably accurate. He said that is the going price of a decent family home in Powell River.
“We have seen a bit of a bump here over these past couple of months,” said Frost. “The activity has kind of pushed prices up. It’s still active and there were quite a few sales in the higher price range in August, which really pulled average prices up.”
In terms of single-family homes, in August 2020, there were 48 homes sold, valued at $22,768,111, compared to 28 homes, valued at $11,053,358, in August 2019.
There were three single-family mobiles and manufactured homes, valued at $598,900, sold in August 2020, compared to five units, valued at $668,000, in August 2019.
For single-family condos, apartments and duplexes, there were four sold in August 2020, valued at $1,178,200, compared to eight, valued at $2,090,500, in August 2019.
Totals for residential properties for August 2020 were 56 units valued at $24,545,211, compared to 41 units, valued at $13,811,858, in August 2019.
For non-residential, in August 2020, there were 10 parcels of vacant land sold, valued at $1,761,000, compared to five parcels in August 2019, valued at $363,000.
In terms of industrial, commercial and institutional, there were three units sold in August 2020, compared to no units the previous year.
Frost said Texada Island has been active, with affordability and the lifestyle it offers over there.
In terms of year-to-date residential sales comparisons between this year and last, in 2020, there were 283 homes sold, compared to 274 in 2019.
“In a year where we thought we were going to sell less, we’re pleasantly surprised that we’re on track to do the same kind of sales,” said Frost.
According to the buyer and seller statistics for August 2020, there were 30 local buyers and 25 out of area buyers. Statistics for all of 2020 show 51.1 per cent local buyers and 48.9 per cent out of area buyers.
In terms of sellers in August 2020, 49 were local and 10 were from out of the area. The year’s statistics show 87.3 per cent of sellers were local and 12.7 per cent were out of area.
