As of June 30, Smithers ranked 4th in northern B.C. for average house price according to the latest data from the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.
At the end of the first half of the year, 100 Mile House has moved to the top of the list with an average selling price for a residential detached home at $542,383.
In the Smithers area, which includes Telkwa, statistics indicated an average selling price of $497,332. While this was high enough to remain in the top five in the north, it is a significant decrease from 2022 when Smithers was number one with an average price of $570,040.
Smithers area agents reported 89 sales with a value of $43.5 million in the first six months of 2024, compared to 72 sales worth $34 million at this time last year.
Half of the 46 single-family homes sold so far this year sold for less than $484,500 and took, on average, 56 days to sell. Nine parcels of vacant land and 13 homes on acreages also changed hands since Jan. 1. As of June 30, there were 72 properties of all types available through MLS in the Smithers area.
Earlier this week, economists anticipated the Bank of Canada would once again cut interest rates with the potential of heating up the real estate market.
“The Bank of Canada rate announcement on July 24 will have an impact on the market. If the rate drops, so will mortgage rates, which could encourage home buyers to enter or re-enter the market,” said Nikki Morse, Realtor, RE/MAX Coast Mountains in Prince Rupert.
100 Mile House, which went from $479,419 in June 2023 to $542,383 last month, was followed by Prince George in second place at $519,425 and Terrace at $519,352.
Williams Lake rounded out the top five with an average of $472,978.
The highest number of transactions in the north were in the City of Prince George where 641 properties worth $306.1 million changed hands, compared with 545 properties worth $254 million in the first six months of last year.
Overall, the northern B.C. region noted a record-high home price average of $451,623, a 4.5 per cent increase from June 2023.
However the total number of units sold in June was 427, only four more than June 2023 according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The CREA noted that home sales nationally are 7.3 per cent below the five-year average and 10.3 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of June.
Elsewhere in the Northwest region, the Prince Rupert area, which includes Port Edward, was 6th overall in the north with an average selling price of $446,510. This figure represents only a slight increase from June 2023’s average which of $444,444.
With files from Thom Barker
