Prince George, B.C. – The Northern Housing market remains stable with a couple of exceptions.

The BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB) has released its third quarter results and it reports that 3,834 properties worth $973.2 million sold through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in the first nine months of 2016.

Over the same time period last year, 3,833 properties worth $979.3 million changed hands. As of September 30, 2016, 4,519 properties of all types for sale through the MLS, down a bit from the 4,575 properties at the end of September last year.

“While most communities in the BC Northern Board area are fairly stable and in line with sales from 2015, there are some communities experiencing significant changes year over year,” says BCNREB past president David Black.

“The markets tied closely to the oil and gas developments, such as Fort St John and Fort Nelson, are still seeing significantly lower sales volume; while in 100 Mile House current year sales are almost double the year­-to­-date total for 2015.

“Prince George is having a good year with a stable economy and the positive outlook on growth from the Conference Board of Canada. Sales volumes are virtually the same as 2015 while prices have increased.”

Black says the biggest challenge in the Prince George market has been the decline in housing inventory which has “pushed prices up.”

Nevertheless, he’s still optimistic moving into the fourth quarter.

“I think we’ve diversified over the last 25 years and it allows us to ride through some of the tougher economic times and still have a pretty solid economy.”