PG housing sales heat up in May

The nicer weather Prince George saw in May got people off their couches and into the housing market.

According to the BC Northern Real Estate Board, 85 single-family homes were sold last month with an average selling price of $508,329.

The number of transactions far outpaced April where just 58 units came off the market selling for roughly $503,000.

Vice-Chair, Kristine Newell told MyPGNow.com the spring spike isn’t uncommon.

“We tend to slow down after school lets out and then we pick up again later in the summer. We are also looking at two more possible interest rate increases later this year – that might spur people to get into something before those rates do come up and while they have those rate holds still in place.”

With higher interest rates still very much in play, Newelll stated the first five months of 2023 have gone according to form.

“As we have seen all year January was very, very low sales, and as we move forward, people have gotten more comfortable with that this is going to be the new normal with these rates for a little bit longer. People are getting back out and buying those houses and just getting on with it.”

The higher rates have also led to some homes being kept on the market a little bit longer.

“The higher priced homes are still selling, they are just sitting a little bit longer and if we compare that to April, which was a much bigger gap of about $60,000 year-over-year we are seeing the gap close as we return to normal conditions,” added Newell.

In addition, 250 single detached sales have been made in PG through the first five months of 2023 for an average selling price of $496,882 down from the 380 that were sold in May of 2022 ($534,407).