Real estate sales in both Houston and Burns Lake dipped in 2020 from 2019, full-year results just released from the BC Northern Real Estate Board indicate.
From 52 properties of all kinds in Houston worth $10.5 million in 2019, sales dropped in 2020 to 35 properties worth $8.2 million.
In Burns Lake, 75 properties of all kinds worth $14.7 million sold in 2020 compared to 84 properties worth $13.9 million in 2019.
Of the 52 properties selling in Houston, 21 were single family homes with an average value of $219,618, a value higher than the average price of $187,852 received for the 36 single family homes that sold in 2019 and higher than the $174,067 average value of the 32 homes that sold in 2018.
The average price of the 25 single family homes that sold in Burns Lake in 2020 was $198,158, more than the average price of $168,982 for the 35 homes that sold in 2019 and the average price of $163,238 received for the 26 homes selling in 2018.
Overall, the real estate market throughout the north ran contrary to what occurred in Houston and Burns Lake.
“(Multiple Listing Sales) MLS home sales in 2020 made an exceptional recovery from the pandemic-induced pullback during the first half of the year,” said real estate board president Shawna Kinsley.
Overall, home sales through MLS grew by 4.2 per cent in 2020 to 5,083 sales, up from 4,748 sales in 2019.
But there were fewer listings in 2019 compared to 2019, causing more competition for homes that were on the market and, as a result, average prices rose 7.1 per cent to $332,893.
In the Burns Lake area, sales included 18 parcels of vacant land, 23 homes on acreage and three manufactured homes on land parcels.
As of Dec. 31, 2020 there were 60 properties listed through MLS in Burns Lake and 25 listed in the Houston area.
In Smithers, 252 property sales worth $83.5 million took place in 2020 compared to 222 sales worth $67 million in 2019 with 96 of those sales being single-family homes. The average price of those 96 single-family homes was $371,032, up from the average price of $302,535 for the 93 single-family homes that sold in 2019 and a healthy increase over the $296,499 average price for the 116 homes that sold in 2018.
Of the average prices provided by the real estate board for 15 northern communities, the highest was in Prince George at $406,943 with Terrace close behind at $400,539 and Fort St. John in third place at $373,081, just ahead of Smithers where the average price was $371,032.
