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‘Uncharted territory’ in our ‘microclimate’: A tale of two properties
Real Estate in qathet
BY PIETA WOOLLEY
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It’s nearly impossible to use statistics to get a good handle on what’s actually happening here in terms of real estate prices, according to Neil Frost, president of the Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board. Sell a few more small fixer-uppers one month, and the stats look like house prices are crashing. Sell a couple of posh waterfront spreads, and the stats say prices here are shooting skyward.
A better measure, Neil said, is to find a benchmark home and watch what happens to prices over time.
Sadly, no one thought to do this during the early days of the pandemic. However, two examples from the past year show just how extreme this market was during the spring of 2022. Please be cautioned that these are outliers, rather than representative examples, showing the kookiest of changes in the market over the past year.
Both are Westview family homes built in the second half of the 20th century, on mid-sized lots. They’re both in good shape.
In June 2022, one two bedroom home sold for $839,900, according to BC Assessment. By December 2022, the buyers listed it again - now for $629,000 - a decline of $210,000 under a year.
In March of 2022, one four-bedroom home listed for $599,000 and was bought a month later for $777,000 - $178,000 over. Wow. By February 2023, that same house was on the market again for $655,000 (it has since sold). That’s $56,000 higher than its list price a year earlier, but $120,000 lower than the purchase price.
“I would argue that they both sold high [in early 2022], one a little high and the other quite high,” said Neil, pointing out that Spring of 2022 was by far the most frenzied real estate market here in memory. These wavy home prices are not evidence that the market is crashing here, but they are evidence that it was wild in early 2022.
“If you’re looking for a home to be in, the market here is healthy and prices are going down - but it is my opinion they won’t sink to pre-pandemic levels,” Neil said.
