By CKPGToday

Home Ownership Realistic In Northern BC

Mar 14, 2018 | 12:04 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The ability to own a home in northern BC is still within reach for most people.  That’s the word from the BC Northern Real Estate Board following the release of its Housing Affordability Indicators. 

The annual report compares the cost of owning an average single-family home with the typical pre-tax income level of the region to produce a percentage.  The cost of owning a home includes a mortgage payment, municipal taxes and utilities.  An indicator figure of 50 percent means it would require 50 percent of pretax income to pay the costs of homeownership.  The higher the percentage, the more difficult it is to purchase a home. 

The Northern Real Estate Board says the largest factor in affordability is generally the cost of purchasing a home.  The average price of a single-family home in northern BC is approximately $290,000.  A similar home in Vancouver would sell for $1.5 million.  So the Housing Affordability Indicator for northern BC is 29 percent while the figure for Vancouver is 116 percent.

Kitimat and Quesnel saw affordability indicators drop (improve) by 4 percent and 2 percent respectively.  The figure didn’t change in Mackenzie while Prince George, Williams Lake, Terrace, Smithers, Fort St. John, Prince Rupert and 100 Mile House rose in a range of 1 to 5 percent. 

2017 Housing Affordability Indicators:

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Prince George – 31%; Quesnel – 25%; Williams Lake – 29%; 100 Mile House – 36%; Prince Rupert – 33%; Kitimat – 27%; Terrace – 33%; Smithers – 26%; Mackenzie – 20%; Fort St. John – 27%.