“The north was in sellers market territory in July,”: BCREA

Not every region in BC is feeling the pinch from the mortgage rules introduced at the start of 2018.

Housing sales across the province saw a 24% decline in July when compared to the same time last year.

However, the north was the lone exception.

“What’s interesting is when we look across the north, home sales are actually up about 23% from a year ago so the north is certainly bucking the trend from the rest of the province,” says Cameron Muir, Chief Economist with the BC Real Estate Association.

If you have the “For Sale” sign up right now, you’re likely to cash in.

“Fewer homes for sale in the marketplace and as a result, market conditions when you take the entire north are in a seller’s market territory in July.”

Northern BC continues to be among one of the more affordable places to live in the province and the numbers don’t like according to Muir.

“The average price in the north is around $305,000 whereas the rest of the province as a whole is more than double that. Markets like Vancouver it’s a million dollars so it’s much more affordable for residents so they’re not as impacted in terms of their purchasing power to buy a home.”

“The north is withstanding that (the new mortgage rules) and we’re in fact seeing more sales. On the pricing side, sales were in up in July around 8.5% in July compared to a year ago so we’re seeing an upward trend on prices and that’s largely the result of some strong sales activity.”

The average home price in Prince George is a little higher at over $356,000.

The average home price in BC is twice as high as $696,000..