Powell River’s real estate market is correcting, according to Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board president Neil Frost.
“As predicted, sales volume is down and prices are inching up, instead of jumping up,” said Frost in a statement. “The market is levelling, perhaps, but definitely not crashing.”
The average selling price for the 32 residential homes sold in Powell River in June was $363,858. On average, prices were down 0.6 per cent from June 2017 at $365,912, a drop of close to $2,000.
The median selling price fell 2.4 per cent to $349,900, which indicates half of home sales were for more than $349,900 and half sold for less. Median price is used frequently as a more accurate picture of the market in terms of prices and growth.
The market correction is in the early stages of a return to more balance instead of an all out seller’s market, according to Frost.
An unsettled market can impact new building, with developers sitting on the sidelines until they get a better idea of where things are going, he said.
But Frost added that there is continuing demand for all housing types.
“It is still busy, volume is just down from the historic highs of the last couple years,” he added.
Frost said he hopes this correction will not have a negative effect on planned development.
“I can't see why,” he said. “There are people from out of our area who are not buying here right now because of lack of new builds, and there are locals who would like a new home or upgrade.”
Meanwhile, new rules that took effect on June 15 will change the way realtors and their clients work together. The practice of a realtor acting for both the seller and the buyer, called dual agency, is now banned and will have a negative effect in Powell River, according to Frost.
“It is affecting all small communities and small businesses,” he said,” which is what brokerages essentially are.
Dual agency has been practised transparently and legally province wide for many years, according to Frost. Regulators do not realize that the vast majority of transactions are not adversarial, he said.
The rules were implemented by the BC government to address concerns of realtor transparency in the current market. Real estate agents are also required to provide more disclosure on how they act for buyers and sellers and full disclosure on all expected compensation.
“One of the biggest impacts of these changes is that there may be times when your chosen realtor is unable to represent you because they are representing another client in the transaction,” said Frost. “Listing agents won’t be able to represent their own buyers and possibly even past clients interested in their seller’s property, which has always been a key reason for the existence of limited dual agency.”
