A struggling forestry sector and an uncertain environment for global trade led to a six percent decline in unit sales in 2019 according to the BC Northern Real Estate Board.

Despite the decline in sales, the average price for a single-family home in Prince George went up last year to $371,000, spiking from $350,000 during December of 2018.

On Monday, the BC Real Estate Association reported the BC Northern region recorded an average house price of $349,000 in December, a 19% spike compared to the same month the year prior.

President Leah Meyer expects the northern capital to have a productive 2020.

“We’re projected to go up in 2020, west of the by-pass (Highway 16 and 97) is always really good and our whole market in Prince George is really good, we’re very diverse and we just some to carry on quite well.”

RE/MAX City Centre Realtor, Bob Quinlan stated we’re getting more people to migrate into the city limits.

“A growing trend where it seems like people in the rural areas and smaller towns are now migrating to Prince George where the higher density is but it also comes with greater services.”

He adds the western corridor that includes the Highway 16 and 97 by-pass, Westgate and Bon Voyage are seeing more development.

Quinlan also told MyPGNow.com the southwest corner of the city remains an attractive spot for families.

“College Heights is still one of your prime family areas because of the schools that are close by there and also you’ve got greenbelt down there so families feel a lot safer.”

Quinlan states a lot of the homes in the College Heights area now have secondary accommodations.

“The houses that were built there, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s they went up in a few short years and those ones will have people that are looking at putting suites in or secondary accommodations either for rental or for their own family use.”

PG saw 1417 properties worth 492-million dollars sold in 2019, up slightly from the 1400 homes that changed hands the year prior worth a combined 445-million.

In Vanderhoof, 120 properties worth a total value of 31-million dollars were sold last year, compared with 2018 where 125 homes with a combined value of 25-million changed hands.