Fort St. John property sales decline in 2023

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Property sales were down for the last quarter of 2023, according to the BC Northern Real Estate Board (BCNREB).

At the end of 2023, 587 properties with a value of $236 million sold in Fort St. John, down from the 653 properties worth $271.4 million in 2022.

Of the 258 single-family homes sold in 2023, half sold for less than $378,500.

Also in 2023, 24 parcels of vacant land, 65 half-duplexes, 52 homes on acreage, 22 manufactured homes in parks and 61 on land were sold.

As of December 31st, 2023, 444 properties of all types were available through the Multiple Listing Service, up from the 198 properties for sale at the end of 2022.

Realtors of the BCNREB reported 4,233 property sales worth $1.7 billion in 2023, down from 5,071 sales worth $2 billion in 2022.

The board says the fourth quarter total of 867 seasonally adjusted sales is the third-lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the board, the level of active listings remains short of the level needed for the market to be balanced if sales return to historical norms.

The average price declined to roughly $408,000 in the fourth quarter across the northern portion of the province, a 5 per cent from its peak in the second quarter of 2020.

The seasonally adjusted average days on the market rose to 72.

The board says the housing market remains “soft” as high interest rates have constrained affordability for buyers. 

The BCNREB expects mortgage rates to fall further, which may bring a “tailwind” for sales in the region, encouraging a recovery in sales for the spring.

The full report from the BCNREB can be viewed below: