Positive Forecast From BCREB
Prince George, B.C.- There is some positive news coming from the BC Real Estate Board.
It is predicting increased home sales and average prices for this year and next.
BC Real Estate Board graphs
The Board says housing demand “continues to climb unabated”. According to the Board’s 4th quarter forecast, “long term prospects in commodity exports remains positive.” The report suggests that even though companies have yet to make a final financial decision on LNG development, “LNG will very likely be an important driver of growth in the coming years.”
The report says most communities throughout the North of B.C. have either balanced or seller’s market conditions, meaning the demand is equal to or higher than the supply. That means the price will be pushed higher, with the Board predicting the average residential price throughout the north to be boosted by as much as 7.1% this year to $261,000 and another 2.7% increase in 2015 to $268,000.
The Board is also forecasting sales will be up by nearly 9% this year, and a further 3.3% in 2015, to levels that haven’t been seen since 2005.
For Prince George, the picture is just as positive.
The Board is predicting a 3.5% increase in sales by the end of this year, and that the average price will have climbed by 4.2% to $271,600. For next year, the demand continues, with a predicted 4.1% increase in the number of properties sold in Prince George, and a further 3.6% boost in average price boosting it up to $281,300.
Comments
What’s ‘positive’ about a rise in prices? So you sell at a higher price the house you’ve bought at a lower price and supposedly made a profit. But you still have to have a place to live. And now the cost of replacing what you’ve just sold has risen, too. All you’re doing is working with bigger figures, there really is no actual profit at all.
In fact, the supposed advantage to you in doing this is more likely than not ‘negative’, for now the property tax assessment has risen based on the increased price you just sold for, and with it will most certainly rise our annual property tax bills.
There might be a perceived advantage to the ‘land pimp’ that brokered the sale of your home. The dollar amount of the commission charged will increase, and no doubt he feels he’s made a wise career choice. He’s inside, most of the time, and there’s no heavy lifting.
But how long will it be before people start to realise that if the amount of the real estate commission continues to increase disproportionately relative to the actual increase in costs of the materials necessary to construct a house, (it already exceeds in most cases the total cost of all the lumber used ~ yet just listen to the wailing that any meaningful rise in the price of lumber is “…pricing would-be homeowners right out of the market” engenders should that price ever so briefly increase), before his activities at promoting higher prices are going to be called into question?
Perhaps never. Seems we have become a nation that likes getting gouged so much and worships the false God of inflation so fervently while it continues to pick our pockets and drive us ever deeper into debt that we’re too dumb to realise the difference between what is no more than an inflation and actual prosperity.
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 @ 8:15 AM by socredible
What’s ‘positive’ about a rise in prices? So you sell at a higher price the house you’ve bought at a lower price and supposedly made a profit.
2 Positives.
1. We are planning to sell our house in 1.5 years and leave P.G. once our kid(s) have moved out. The place we’re looking at moving has a lower price for a similar home. That will make our mortgage payments lower, or allow us to pay it off faster. This also applies to people who are selling their biggest investment, their house, to move to wherever they are retiring to, or the people who have inherited a house, who are selling it, will have a bit more money.
2. It allows people to take the now larger equity in their home, and move to a “better” house. The realtors sell “starter homes” for just that reason. Yes, the new house will be more expensive. But that is the game, isn’t it? The banks encourage this behavior.
News2me. Interesting that you plan on selling your house and leaving Prince George. Are your kids also going to leave?? If not will they purchase your old home, or will they rent.
I am trying to get a sense of why people leave Prince George. Have you retired, or will you work somewhere else?? Where will you move to?? Vancouver Island, Greater Vancouver area, or Kelowna, area.
I have a friend that is retiring in two years and is in the process of building a house in Kelowna, once he retires he will sell his house, and he is gone.
Just askin.
For the Real Estate People anytime is a good time to buy or sell, no movement of houses no Commission no Income and how to increase your Income, sell more or increase the Selling Prize or both! Stay put and save!
the real estate board. Yeah sure, they have never predicted a slide in the housing market.. They wouldn’t as its their job to sell houses.. They will do anything to try to prop up the market.
The fees they charge are crazy, they do the same amount of work for a $200,000 house as a 1,000,000 and want tons more for selling the million dollar one.. They may have taken a few more photos but that’s it. Should be a straight fee to sell any house.
“I am trying to get a sense of why people leave Prince George.”
We are in our early 40s. Not anywhere near old enough to retire, and our kid is 16, so will not be buying our house ;)
My husband works in Northern B.C., his employer flies him in/out from anywhere, so we can live anywhere. Seriously, they are flying guys in from Europe. Anywhere! I live in and love P.G., but my lungs do not. In the interest of stability for our kid, we will stay until the kid graduates, then we must leave. Our kid will go to University at that time, and plans to apply to several. We will pay for her to have a dorm, or apartment with friends, just as if we had stayed here.
I was born here, and grew up here. My family has lived here for a few generations, and it will be a very sad day when I leave my house, my family, and my City. I do not hate it here. We will certainly maintain close ties to Prince George.
There might be a perceived advantage to the ‘land pimp’ that brokered the sale of your home.
We sold our home in a week. Do some research in the local market and get a the right price and it’s a breeze. We advertized in the Citizen with a photo and Craigslist with many photos like the pimps do.
And the goes Pal again. Such a knowledgeable person and he doesn’t know why folks leave PG. The big reason is the air quality and the colder temperatures. What’s so puzzling about that. We also stayed in PG because of our family. When they left home we did too.
If your living in a 1200 sq ft home with basement that was built in the mid 70’s you can buy in Chilliwack for less and Abbotsford about the same price. We bought a 1500 sq ft modern rancher town home for $310,000.00
And don’t believe the bullshit that Abbotsford is a smelly place its just not true.
Cheers
To me deciding to retire involves a few things..
1. Being near family
2. Near a hospital
3. Affordability
4. Area having the things I like to do..aka fishing, camping, skiing etc
Everyone has different reasons for where they retire.
All I know that I will no longer be using a real estate agent for any property I sell. I will keep my money so I can retire a little bit earlier thank you very much.
There are some that should be aware: Due to a certain realty firm, a person who wants to sell their own house and lists it with them, there is no need for the seller to pay commission to anyone.
What is happening now is: if you are the buyer any other realty agency that you work with will try and get you to sign a 3 month deal that you work with only that realtor.
The problem is in the so called contract they also request you sign/agree to a 5% commission fee that the buyer needs to pay the realtor. It is becoming more of a common occurrence as they do not want to do all the work and not get commission due to a certain realty firm.
This means a new homeowner or buyer would now need an extra 5% on top of their minimum 5% to buy a house. Not a good thing for young people for sure!
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