Real estate sales on the Sunshine Coast have slowed significantly over the first half of the year compared to last year, but realtors say it’s a sign the market is settling into a normal pattern after a record-shattering 2016.
According to the latest numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), sales of detached homes – still the most common property type on the Coast – are down 37 per cent from 2016. Prices, however, continue their upward trend with the REBGV benchmark price for a detached home now sitting at $564,300, up 21 per cent from last year.
REBGV president Jill Oudil described the trend by saying, “Home sale activity decreased to more historically normal levels in July.”
Kenan MacKenzie and Garry Little are among the local realtors who publish regular analyses of the sales numbers, and both have noted a significant drop in the sales of vacant lots – a statistic that isn’t tracked by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
A total of 123 lots had been sold on the Sunshine Coast as of July 31, compared to 285 by this time last year – a drop of 57 per cent.
MacKenzie also points out another trend, a spike in the number of properties selling for over $1,000,000. There have been 61 so far in 2017, compared to 54 in 2016. In his July market update, MacKenzie described that as “surprising” and said, “It is now becoming common to see homes selling for over $1 million that are not waterfront.”
Royal LePage’s annual outlook for recreational properties was released in June, and it points to areas like the Sunshine Coast as a target market for people “cashing out” of areas like Greater Vancouver and looking at recreational properties as a way to downsize or make a lifestyle change.
“Proximity and accessibility to the mainland combined with relative affordability makes owning recreational property on the Sunshine Coast extremely attractive,” said local realtor John D. McKenzie in the Royal LePage outlook.
“Sales activity and prices have both risen significantly since last year, as the increase in the quality of local shops and services, an updated hospital, extensive senior services and an overall improvement in infrastructure have continued to draw people into the area.”
