One of many houses for sale in Prince George

By Tommy Osborne

Real Estate

Housing market could finally see some good news

Jan 12, 2024 | 4:13 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The last three years have been rough on the housing market in Prince George, but we may finally be seeing the development of a healthier housing market. According to the BC Northern Real Estate Board, 2021 to 2022 saw an astronomical 14% jump in the average selling price, going from $458,560 to $520,204, but 2022 to 2023 actually saw a drop, as the average selling price was $500,320 last year. While 2022’s ridiculous jump is still leaving a lasting impact, overall the last three years don’t look too ridiculous when you consider where we ended up.

“If we actually average (the price increase) between 2021 and 2023, then overall we’re up 9.1% over two years. That would average out to about four and a half percent a year, which is much more in line with what people expect property values in our area to increase at,” explained Janine Phillips, a Realty Managing Broker with Team Powerhouse.

While 2023 did see prices go on a downwards trend, Phillips doesn’t think we’ll continue to drop. Rather, she expects we’ll begin to develop a healthier, more sustainable market as interest rates normalize and more buyers and sellers enter the market.

Spruce Kings fall in Langley to Rivermen

16h ago

Sexual Assault and Harassment

Judge to rule on Canada Post employee's sexual assault and harassment case

Dec 13, 2025

Weather Alerts

Freezing rain warning issued for Prince George-area, snowfall warning remains for Williston, Pine Pass

Dec 13, 2025

“If we look at interest rates on a 20 year average, they’re about 5% and right now we’re getting to about 5%. Millennials are entering into that first time homebuyers age that we’d expect people to purchase and they make up such a huge, huge portion of our population. We have another huge demographic of the baby boomers. They own a lot of housing and they’re going to start looking to downsize and do some different things, so there’s going to be lots of buyers and there’s going to be lots of sellers,” she said.

The increase of buyers and sellers both is a key aspect of a healthy housing market. If prices drop too much, sellers won’t want to sell, diminishing supply. A lack of supply, along with people still needing houses, would then inevitably lead to rising prices as demand increases. However, if both sides are relatively equal the amount of supply and demand level out, and an increased level of sustainable competition could potentially create a wide variety of price points with varying levels of affordability.

This optimism isn’t just speculation either, the early numbers already show 2024 could see far more sellers to match demand.

“Between January 1 and January 10 of 2022, Prince George saw a total of 27 new listings. In 2023, that number goes up to 33 listings. And then so far this year already, in 2024 we’ve had 61,” Phillips said.

While early indications and 2023 trends are pointing towards a better year for Prince George’s housing market, we’re not quite in the clear yet, as housing affordability remains an issue for some. But the stats do show there’s legitimate reasons for optimism heading into 2024.