Northern BC continued to lag behind other parts of the province in terms of unit sales during November according to the BC Real Estate Association.
Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson relayed the November numbers to Vista Radio.
“Sales were down seven percent year-over-year, in Prince George they were down about 14 percent year-over-year. Where we are seeing a strong recovery in a lot of BC, a lot of the local economic conditions in the north are starting to drag demand a little bit.”
Ogmundson adds a downturn in the resource sector continues to plague the north.
“Struggles in the forestry remain and I think that is really hurting local economies and we’re starting to see that translate into weaker home sales, obviously when people are concerned for their jobs they won’t be buying homes.”
The average home price in Northern BC is 302-thousand dollars while the provincial average is more than double that at 747-thousand.
Over 39-hundred unit sales have been recorded so far this year in Northern BC, down from the 2018 mark of 42-hundred, which is a decline of 5.5%.