It looks like housing starts have jumped for multiple housing units like apartments and condos... Maybe some pg developers should take note as it appears that condo sales are the rage....
Logical since new home prices are off the charts even in PG.

If someone watned to put a postivie spin on this, they would simply have to look at the percentage of year to date for PG versus unrban BC.

In single detached - PG up by 9.1% compared to urban BC down by 18.7%

In total starts to date, PG up by 1.8% and urban BC down by 6.9%

Only Chilliwack and Kamloops are ahead of BC and PG and in the positive range; everyone else is down from last year.

I hear there is a major high rise condo being proposed.

What is Kamloops doing that PG is not to achieve MORE THAN DOUBLE the housing starts each year - 499 vs. 225 in Jan - Aug 2007 and 483 vs. 221 in Jan - Aug 2006?

That's a difference of 536 in less than 2 years, and let's estimate each at $150,000, that's $80,400,000 more invested in housing in Kamloops than Prince George.

PG is an extremely undesirable place to live especially when compared to places like Kamloops & Kelowna. Unless a person is tied here by family or employment, they generally leave as soon as humanly possible.

Bohemian,

Demand drives the market, always.

As an old friend once said, no margin, no mission. It is that simple. Our markets have always been slow on the uptake. That plus the limited manpower resources make us even slower to react to the pent up demand.

Death to Socialism,

Your thinking is late 20th Century thinking. I used to think that way as well until I returned from a week at the Coast and Kelowna. Value says I stay.

And to both of you, housing prices are going to take a run up again, mark my words............real soon.

This is about housing starts, not property values. I believe demand is higher (due, IMHO, to a more desirable location) down south.
I really hope prices do get closer to those in the OK, it'll take some of the bite out when I can finally move there.

I think it is fair to say that people move to Prince George primarily because of job opportunities.

Generally speaking:
People move to Chilliwack primarily for cheaper housing in the lower mainland.

People move to the Okanagan primarily because of climate.

People move to Kamloops because of jobs and climate.

There are companies moving to those communties for similar reasons which, in addition to the service industries that build up based on population increases generate jobs for those who are moving there for jobs rather than retirement.

Oh, btw ... the climate reason is only for those whimps who are not real Canadians.

Real Canadians know and understand the value of four seasons.

;-)

Just my opinion, but until something TANGIBLE happens with our local economy to help offset the job losses that will occur in the next decade in PG, I'm convinced that the local real estate "boom" is primarily a short-term frenzy created by people looking to capitalize on the hype of a booming economy.

I say hype because I've lived here long enough to understand that talk is just that. Show me something tangible that will result in thousands of new jobs and I'll say that the upswing in the housing market is justified. Until then, I'll say it's simply people trying to make 100K+ off of someone who isn't looking at the big picture.

Our housing starts (in real numbers) are lower than everywhere else because while they have had population growth, we have not.

I'll take that label & don't much care about any "real Canadian" bs but
last time I checked summer was still a season. Haven't seen that one in these parts for years.

;-)

You know, there is something of everyone`s post that I can agree with. Nice,balanced comments.

The reason for this post is the following article.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/09/11/bc-shooting.html

While reading it I realized that is another reason that drives people here.....maybe.

The Okanagan isn't a great place to live. I moved back to PG from there. It's crowded, expensive, and too hot. Pg is one of the greatest places I've lived.

Bohemian. Try this on for size.

Tobiano development 15 minutes west of Kamloops on Kamloops Lake. Close to Savona BC. Tobiano, an 18,000 acre master planned resort community. In an unprecedented show for the Kamloops market, 21 Lake Star townhomes were sold in June 2007 totaling $13 Million;

In addition to the nearly sold out Lake Star townhomes and Bluff Resort lots, Tobiano is releasing two other townhome projects later this year. Latitude and Summers Landing, as well as 40 equestrain lots, and several cottage lots;

Located on Six Mile Lake Ranch Tobiano will ultimately consist of four distinctive neighbourhoods, over 1,000 homes, as well as three boutique hotels. The homes will offer the very best in environmental design, architecture and landscape planning, with pedestrian walkways and riding paths connecting residents to a golf course, a 100 slip marina, an equestrian centre, as well as a 40,000 square foot shopping village full of cafes, restaurants, and shops.

Response to Tobiano to date has been strong with $47 Million in both single family lots and town homes. The 18 hole golf course opened on July 5th.

This is a $500 Million development by developer Michael Grenier and son of Pagebrook Inc.

Somewhat more significant than the proposed but never developed **Metropolis** at 5th and Que by Ghia., I would say.

Glad you like it here Ruez, but judging by the growth in the the OK vs the stagnation in PG, you're in the minority.

There just doesn't seem to be the same "savoir faire" in PG when it comes to multi home developments compared to the other places mentioned in these blogs and that's because the developers in PG are small potatoes compared to the big companies marketing their condos.

Death to Socialism you are right, and for the life of me I don't know why. Better climate is the only reason I come up with, but frankly the summers are too hot for me. All people do is sit in their air conditioned homes, or drive in their air conditioned cars.

@ Palopu

"Located on Six Mile Lake Ranch Tobiano will ultimately consist of four distinctive neighbourhoods, over 1,000 homes, as well as three boutique hotels. The homes will offer the very best in environmental design, architecture and landscape planning, with pedestrian walkways and riding paths connecting residents to a golf course, a 100 slip marina, an equestrian centre, as well as a 40,000 square foot shopping village full of cafes, restaurants, and shops."

We should put you on the comittee to explain to the rest of Prince George why we need a performing arts centre. The developers are selling to the market and this is the stuff the market demands.

My question was rhetorical; I'm glad you phrased the facts so well.

So who are we going to elect in 14 months time? Same old same old, I bet.

I have been watching Tobiano for the last two years as one drives into Kamloops. It will no doubt be a quality development.

The 21 townhomes sold in June are no big deal for that region. They would be here for sure. There is a development I saw go up on Shuswap Lake with three story row housing (another word for townhomes) with 1,500 to 1,700 SF per unit that sell for 3/4 to 1 million dollars each. Not much difference.

The 1,000 homes could very well take about 10 years to sell. It has already taken at least two years to get to where they are now.

Just to give you an idea of what a 40,000 SF shopping "village" means ..... it would fit into the Save-on-Foods in Spruceland with 20,000 SF to spare. That store alone is about 62,000 SF.

That being said, there is nothing similar here other than the houses next to the golf course which total about 25 or so by now, I believe.

I believe there is a market for more northern retirement developments. The problem is, one needs to get people from the east to look at those because everyone here has southern BC climate on their brain which has fried their brains and removed their abilities to think.

Go look at some retirement developments back east where the weather is no better or worse than here. The action is not only in the west.

Mont Tremblant .... http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/realestate/greathomes/23havens.1.html

A proposed condo development for rail enthusiasts who want to watch the comings and goings though the CN First Avenue yards and the intermodal port.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26306372@N00/1367000042

the view would be yucky!

Thank you dgdiggler ..... I wonder if that is a reason we had a few high rises in the late 1960’s and early 1970s until people realized the views to be had were not that fantastic, at least not from some vantage points.

Perhaps we could look at resurrecting the underground home movement of 20 to 30 years ago …

;-)