The new mortgage stress test continues to put a damper on home sales for most of BC, with the only exception being the north.
According to the province’s Real Estate Association, the average home price in the north is 288-thousand dollars, up to a half percent from a year ago, Prince George is slightly higher than the region closing in at 350-thousand dollars.
Deputy Chief Economist, Brendon Ogmundson recently spoke with My PG Now.
“In the province as a whole, sales were down about 27% but in the northern region they were up 1.3% and in Prince George, they were up closer to 6%, demand is actually holding pretty steady and actually growing in the north.”
After the region saw its commodity prices get rocked in 2014, the tables have now turned with the economy fully recovered and the rest of the province falling behind on the housing sector front.
“Now with the rest of the province kind of moderated and the economy of the north really turning around, it’s just able to impact the ramifications of the stress test because prices didn’t run up and incomes are more in line with what prices are in the north.”
The number of active listings dropped by just over 7% from last month when compared to February of 2018.
BC’s average home price at the end of February was $678,825, a decline of just over 9% from the same time last year.