Williams Lake has seen a slight increase in real estate sales during the first quarter of 2018.
In all, 94 properties sold, as opposed to 82 in 2017, during the first quarter in Williams Lake with the value of those properties also up from $17.4 million to $19.9 million.
In addition to the 29 single-family homes sold, 21 homes on acreage, 11 manufactured homes in parks and seven manufactures homes on land changed hands in the first quarter.
As of March 31, there were 238 properties listed on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in the Williams Lake area.
Inventories, meanwhile, have seen a decrease. Anecdotally, it appears approximately half the buyers are from out of town and the other half are local residents, said the BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB).
100 Mile House, meanwhile, has seen a drop in both sales and listings and the board suspects the number of listings may not have picked up significantly following the drop caused by the 2017 wildfires.
Quesnel has also seen a decrease in the number of sales and listings when compared to 2017.
“The mortgage stress test, that was implemented last year, appears to have had a minimal impact on most markets in the BC Northern Real Estate Board Area,” said BCNREB president Court Smith. “Many areas [were] impacted by the prolonged winter weather. Most markets are seeing reduced sales activity and lower inventory over the same period last year.
“Real estate in northern BC continues to be very affordable as compared to other regions of the Province.”
The average selling price for homes during the first quarter of 2018 in Williams Lake was $245,070 — up from $243,962 the previous year.
The wildfires during the summer of 2017 did cause uncertainty for consumers needing property insurance or with uncompleted real estate transactions.
Despite, in 2017, 469 sales worth $110.5 million were reported through the MLS, up from 441 sales worth $100.1 million the previous year.
