There is no end in sight for high demand and low supply in the Nelson real estate market, a representative of BC Assessment told Nelson City Council at a Feb. 23 meeting.
Ramaish Shah said the average list price of single family home in Nelson in January was $576,000 (four per cent higher than the previous January). The average sale price that month was $568,750 (9.1 per cent higher than in January, 2020).
“Homes are pretty much selling for what they are being listed as,” Shah said, adding that some residences sold for amounts higher than the list price.
He said this is not typical of January sales, which are usually slower, but he said this represents a continued “pent-up demand” following several months of low sales during the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of last year.
In Nelson, the average time on the market for a single family home was 62.5 days in January, down 39 per cent from 103.5 days in January 2020.
“So we are seeing higher list prices, higher sale prices, things going for what they are asking, and taking less time to sell,” Shah said.
BC Assessment is an independent provincial Crown corporation that provides property assessments to B.C. homeowners. Its listings provide a baseline for municipal and other taxing authorities.
Councillor Jesse Woodward asked Shah what he expects for 2021.
The Kootenays are very attractive to people looking for a home or a second home, Shah replied.
“There were four new listings in January in Nelson. That is not much inventory. If there is an increase in demand that will have upward pressure on prices.”
Shah said we are reaching the upper limit of what most people can pay for a family home.
“What we have seen is people moving to surrounding areas, slightly rural areas, but again there are also not many rural properties. There will be strong demand and that is likely to continue.”
Other highlights of Shah’s presentation:
• Across the Kootenays, the average home price in January 2021 ($427,544) was 28 per cent higher than in 202o.
• The number of single family homes for the 2021 tax roll in Nelson is 4,779, up 0.4 per cent from 2020 (the provincial increase was 1.1 per cent).
• Total value of single family home properties in Nelson for the 2021 tax roll is $2.44 billion, an increase of 5.6 per cent over the previous year (the provincial increase was 3.9 per cent).
• The value of construction of new residences in Nelson was $22.4 million, down 10.8 per cent from the previous year (the province was down 18.6 per cent)
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
