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Happy Spring everybody! It’s nice seeing everyone outside and smiling because they don’t have to bundle up against the cold anymore. Well, bundle up as much, anyways. If you have an AC unit, this is a good time to get someone in for routine maintenance to make sure it’s ok before everyone gets super busy this summer.
Let’s get to the market:
Home prices seem to be stabilizing. While sales volume and inventory are still low, for the moment prices don’t seem to be dropping any further. This is likely due to the interest rate increases being paused and signs of inflation beginning to slow. There still isn’t much housing inventory for the people who are looking to buy, and if it is the right property at the right price homes are still sometimes selling for over asking price. However, there are still a few sellers out there who haven’t realized that the market has cooled, and are asking far above what their home’s market value really is. You can see these properties sitting on the market for the last 6 months or more. In the Kootenays, at least, I would say it is still a bit of a seller’s market, although it is becoming more balanced than it was the last few years.
The BC government is introducing a new plan to fight housing unaffordability by creating a budget to build new homes and make building duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes easier and faster with less red tape on properties traditionally zoned for single-family dwelling.
The so-called Homes for People plan starts with a $4-billion investment over three years and commits to $12 billion over a decade with incentives to build, laws to curb speculation and financial help for renters and homeowners. The hope is to increase the supply to balance the demand which is skyrocketing prices.
Next year, homeowners will be able to access a forgivable loan of 50 per cent of the cost of renovations, up to a maximum of $40,000 over five years, if they are willing to rent those secondary suites at below market rate for at least five years. The pilot program is expected to be open to at least 3,000 homeowners for the first three years.
However, an increase in immigration is causing the demand on housing to be higher than ever. BC will welcome an estimated 217,500 new permanent residents from 2023 to 2025 or 100,500 more new permanent residents than would be expected based on historical average immigration levels. This translates to a 20,500-unit increase in housing demand from new permanent residents. The pace of construction of new dwellings needs to increase by 25% for the next five years to offset this demand.
Will the new policies be enough to make housing more affordable? Time will tell. Personally, I anticipate prices in the Kootenays to rebound sometime in the next year, and continue climbing upward. Especially if the interest rates actually start to come back down.
There were 38 properties sold last month between Nelson, Castlegar, Salmo, and the Slocan Valley. Here they are:
| Address | Status | Sub Area | Price Sold | BR | Bth | DOM | Sale Date | MLS # |
| 819 7TH AVENUE | Sold | North Castlegar | $513,000 | 4 | 3 | 168 | Mar 31/23 | 2467893 |
| 567 9TH AVENUE | Sold | North Castlegar | $409,000 | 3 | 2 | 144 | Mar 15/23 | 2467999 |
| 1620 GREYSTONE PLACE | Sold | South Castlegar | $605,000 | 3 | 3 | 137 | Mar 21/23 | 2468150 |
| 208-4200 GRANDVIEW DRIVE | Sold | South Castlegar | $392,500 | 2 | 2 | 106 | Mar 8/23 | 2468320 |
| 19-2210 COLUMBIA AVENUE | Sold | South Castlegar | $380,000 | 2 | 2 | 127 | Mar 29/23 | 2468329 |
| 49-2210 COLUMBIA AVENUE | Sold | South Castlegar | $399,900 | 3 | 3 | 43 | Mar 21/23 | 2468993 |
| 3208 5TH AVE | Sold | South Castlegar | $387,500 | 3 | 1 | 22 | Mar 1/23 | 2469053 |
| 1516 ASPEN LANE | Sold | South Castlegar | $599,900 | 3 | 3 | 23 | Mar 8/23 | 2469071 |
| 1906 RIVERSIDE CRESCENT | Sold | South Castlegar | $482,500 | 4 | 3 | 35 | Mar 20/23 | 2469092 |
| 102-202 11TH AVENUE | Sold | North Castlegar | $199,000 | 2 | 1 | 24 | Mar 10/23 | 2469093 |
| 215 5TH AVE | Sold | North Castlegar | $470,000 | 5 | 2 | 18 | Mar 7/23 | 2469103 |
| 819 8TH AVENUE | Sold | North Castlegar | $429,000 | 3 | 2 | 21 | Mar 8/23 | 2469161 |
| 304 CENTRE AVENUE | Sold | South Castlegar | $445,900 | 3 | 2 | 15 | Mar 9/23 | 2469187 |
| 705 30TH STREET | Sold | South Castlegar | $320,000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Mar 6/23 | 2469375 |
| 561 7TH AVENUE | Sold | North Castlegar | $412,000 | 3 | 1 | 14 | Mar 31/23 | 2469555 |
| 203-620 SECOND STREET | Sold | Nelson | $300,000 | 1 | 1 | 251 | Mar 20/23 | 2466301 |
| 32-1554 GRANITE ROAD | Sold | Nelson | $90,000 | 3 | 1 | 82 | Apr 1/23 | 2468653 |
| 706 STANLEY STREET | Sold | Nelson | $660,000 | 3 | 2 | 54 | Mar 27/23 | 2468956 |
| 1324 HALL STREET | Sold | Nelson | $700,000 | 4 | 2 | 22 | Mar 2/23 | 2469025 |
| 1002 LATIMER STREET | Sold | Nelson | $635,000 | 3 | 2 | 43 | Mar 31/23 | 2469109 |
| 404 HOOVER STREET | Sold | Nelson | $880,000 | 2 | 2 | 27 | Mar 15/23 | 2469128 |
| 719 MUNRO STREET | Sold | Nelson | $1,100,000 | 5 | 5 | 1 | Mar 4/23 | 2469331 |
| 617 DAVIES AVENUE | Sold | Village of Salmo | $349,900 | 2 | 1 | 11 | Mar 17/23 | 2469369 |
| 10-912 SLOCAN STREET | Sold | Village of Slocan | $307,500 | 2 | 2 | 22 | Mar 7/23 | 2469080 |
| 240 BRYAN ROAD | Sold | Kokanee Creek to Balfour | $527,000 | 3 | 2 | 137 | Mar 17/23 | 2468052 |
| 6877 FERN ROAD | Sold | Passmore/Winlaw/Slocan | $458,000 | 3 | 2 | 121 | Mar 22/23 | 2468302 |
| 290 JOHNSTONE ROAD | Sold | North Nelson to Kokanee Creek | $1,135,000 | 3 | 2 | 64 | Mar 15/23 | 2468694 |
| 220 WHITELINE ROAD | Sold | Nelson South/Salmo Rural | $480,000 | 3 | 2 | 46 | Mar 17/23 | 2468910 |
| 3529 SOUTH SLOCAN VILLAGE ROAD | Sold | Nelson West/South Slocan | $465,000 | 3 | 1 | 55 | Mar 29/23 | 2468952 |
| 6308 YOUNGS ROAD | Sold | Passmore/Winlaw/Slocan | $459,000 | 2 | 1 | 27 | Mar 30/23 | 2469305 |
| 3845 LITTLE SLOCAN SOUTH ROAD | Sold | Passmore/Winlaw/Slocan | $394,500 | 3 | 1 | 18 | Mar 26/23 | 2469412 |
| 2845 DUHAMEL CREEK ROAD | Sold | North Nelson to Kokanee Creek | $450,000 | 3 | 3 | 15 | Mar 23/23 | 2469428 |
| 2378 PILJEK ROAD | Sold | Pass Creek Valley | $465,000 | 3 | 3 | 235 | Mar 10/23 | 2466421 |
| 175 SUNCREST ROAD | Sold | Pass Creek Valley | $670,000 | 2 | 2 | 170 | Mar 16/23 | 2467675 |
| 1843 HIGHWAY 3A | Sold | Thrums/Tarrys/Glade | $850,000 | 3 | 4 | 100 | Mar 15/23 | 2468445 |
| 1991 GLADE ROAD | Sold | Thrums/Tarrys/Glade | $660,000 | 4 | 1 | 25 | Mar 10/23 | 2469067 |
| 101-5570 BROADWATER ROAD | Sold | Robson/Raspberry/Brilliant | $374,900 | 2 | 2 | 16 | Mar 3/23 | 2469095 |
| 1033 DOUKHOBOUR ROAD | Sold | Thrums/Tarrys/Glade | $650,000 | 4 | 3 | 25 | Mar 31/23 | 2469381 |
We all know people who have attended a webinar or meeting and wanted to raise their hand to ask a question — but didn’t. Why didn’t they? It was probably because they worried their question would sound silly, or they were embarrassed.
But as many teachers have told their students over the years, “There is no such thing as a dumb question.”
How true.
In fact, when you think about it, asking a question is about the smartest thing you can do. Asking questions helps you get the information you need to make better decisions.
For example, say you want to know the best season to sell your property. If you don’t ask — because you assume you should know — you may never get a clear answer. At least, not without a lot of time-consuming Google-ing.
So, when you have a real estate-related question, who should you ask?
Me.
Feel free to call or email whenever you have questions about current selling prices, mortgages, market conditions, moving – or anything real estate-related. When you call me, any question you ask will be smart!