Home sales in Powell River from January through July were split almost evenly between local and out-of-town buyers, according to statistics from the Powell River-Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board.
“It's nice to see that people are moving here and becoming part of the community,” said board president Neil Frost. “It isn't just investment.”
The latest figures show that 47.2 per cent of Powell River home sales were to out-of-town purchasers and 45.5 per cent were local. Numbers don’t quite add up to 100 per cent as information provided by real estate board members is voluntary, but they indicate what is happening in real estate locally.
One stat shows that 64 per cent of the total 235 home sales from January to July were for primary residences. Frost said that is significant.
“64 per cent principal residence is huge,” he added. “A 50/50 split in-town to out-of-town [buyers] is par for the course. It's not a surprise to anybody.”
Year-to-date there have been 151 homes purchased as principal residences.
According to the numbers, a majority of out-of-area buyers, 48.6 percent, are from the Lower Mainland, Hope and Squamish.
“It's mostly anecdotal but a lot of it is from Squamish in the last two years,” said Frost, which lends to the frequently used expression by locals that Powell River is becoming Squamish 2.0.
Buyers are coming from a broad spectrum, but Frost added that most are from the City of Vancouver, not Metro Vancouver and Squamish. He cautions that the real estate board numbers are only a guide.
“I would not hold them as accurate as the MLS stats,” he said. “We’re getting enough to see patterns.”
A strong July and August market supports the pattern that has held through 2018.
“Slightly less volume,” said Frost, “and prices are still coming up a little bit.”
