Market corrections not always a bad thing: Northern Real Estate Board director

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — New data from the Canadian Real Estate Association suggests the hot housing markets in Greater Vancouver and the Lower Mainland are now close to being an inferno.

It shows prices in those two areas were up 20 and 19 per cent in 2015, as compared to 2014, and the Fraser Valley was close behind with an increase of almost 17 per cent.

However, in many other areas of the province — and they include Fort St. John — it is dramatically different, and it remains a buyer’s market driven by the economic downturn resulting from the collapse in the price of crude oil.

Still, the Fort St. John Director on the Northern Real Estate Board says it should be remembered that market corrections aren’t always a bad thing; and Roland Cataford suggests that, locally, there are still opportunities for prudent and patient buyers and sellers.

With local listings up, there are rumored fears about a near at hand rash of foreclosures, but Mr. Cataford says there’s no evidence of that yet — and all the key local stakeholders are working as hard as they can, to prevent it from occurring.