The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the BC Northern Real Estate Board totaled 425 units in July 2024. This was up by 13% from July 2023.
Home sales were 4.1% below the five-year average and 3% below the 10-year average for the month of July.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 2,393 units over the first seven months of the year. This was an increase of 12.4% from the same period in 2023.
“Sales activity this July came in higher compared to the same month in the previous two years and nearly touched the long-term July average as the trend in sales continues to build steam,” said Kristine Newell, Chair of the BC Northern Real Estate Board. “New listings are taking a breath now as sales activity catches up with what had previously been the highest inventory levels in our region in four years. With supply trending down amid stronger demand the market has tightened, and average prices are generally moving higher at a moderate pace. Our market is well-positioned to remain strong in the coming months, especially with the anticipation of further interest rate cuts later this year.”
The average price of homes sold in July 2024 was $425,170, a small reduction of 2.2% from July 2023.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $423,697, increasing by 3.4% from the first seven months of 2023.
The Board cautions that the average residential price is a useful figure only for establishing trends and comparisons over a period of time. It does not indicate an actual price for a home due to the wide selection of housing available over a vast geographic area (the Board serves an area covering over 600,000 square kilometers or 72% of the province).
The dollar value of all home sales in July 2024 was $180.7 million, a gain of 10.5% from the same month in 2023.
The number of new listings was down by 9.2% from July 2023. There were 663 new residential listings in July 2024.
New listings were 3.4% below the five-year average and 5.9% below the 10-year average for the month of July.
Active residential listings numbered 2,130 units on the market at the end of July, a decrease of 5.1% from the end of July 2023.
Active listings were 1.5% above the five-year average and 14.2% below the 10-year average for the month of July.
Months of inventory numbered 5 at the end of July 2024, down from the 6 months recorded at the end of July 2023 and below the long-run average of 5.8 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.