By By REALTOR® Rolf van Driesum – Team Powerhouse Realty

Sound Off

PG property investments: A case study

Jul 2, 2019 | 8:35 AM

Many homebuyers and investors are curious about which properties will see the biggest increases in value over time. During my twenty year career in real estate in Prince George, it has been interesting to see that while on balance housing prices have steadily risen, not all classes of properties have risen consistently.

As a follow up to my previous article on investment properties in PG, I have selected seven types of property that provide a historical snapshot of changes in our local real estate market. Lots of numbers, however I hope you find value in this analysis and that it may well inform your investment decisions.

Please note the residential properties I have selected have been substantially updated for their final sale. I will provide the gross increase in the property values, but this will not reflect all the costs of maintenance and carrying of the property.

Property #1: Hart area. 1973 Mobile on 1/4 acre. 1100 sq feet with attached carport. Some updating. Previous sales: 1994 – $70,000, 1996 – $87,500, 2019 – $160,000. Should you have purchased this property in 1994 you would have had an appreciation over the next 25 years of approximately $3500 per year or 5% per year on initial investment.

Property #2: Heritage townhouse built in 1975. Almost 1000 square feet. Finished basement. Nice updates and described as move in ready. Sold in 2006 for $106,000, 2008 – $165,000, 2010 – $180,000, 2015 – $196,000, 2017 – $204,000 and 2019 – $237,500. Should you have purchased this property in 2006, you would have seen an appreciation of $10,000 per year or about 9% per year on initial investment.

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Property #3: Lower College Heights. Single Family home built in 1977. 1000 sq feet. Finished basement and detached garage. Sold in 1994 for $123,000, 1995 – 124,000, 2012 – $233,900, 2015 – $263,000. Expected to sell for about $390,000. Again if you had purchased in 1994 you will have seen an appreciation of over $10,000 per year or about 8% per year on the initial investment.

Property #4: Lakewood 1130 sq feet. Built in 1974. Fully finished basement with carport. Recent extensive renovation. Sold in 1991 for $112,000, 1996 – $146,500, 1997 – $154,000, 2016 – $245,000 and 2019 – $425,000. Should you have purchased in 1991 you would have had an appreciation of over $11,000 per year or almost 10% on the initial investment.

Property #5 Beaverly. Built in 1993. Almost 3000 square feet on five acres. Triple garage. Excellent condition. The lot originally sold in 1992 for $23,000. The house first sold in 1996 for

$322,500. 2012 – $487,000 and 2019 – $665,000. This house has appreciated $15,000 per year since 1996 or about 5% on the initial 1996 investment.

Property #6 1 acre lot Nechako Ridge with no water or septic. It was originally on the market in 1995 for $63,400 and did not sell. Sold 2012 -$130,000, 2013 – $145,000, 2017 – $190,000. While this property has tripled over the past 25 years, taxes are presently almost $2000 per year and one would not have received any revenue.

Property # 7 1/2 acre lot in Nechako Bench with no water or sewer. Originally sold in 1985 for $19,000, 1994 – $45,000, 2007 – $60,000, 2019 – $135,000. Present taxes over $1200 per year. This property has appreciated almost 700 percent in a 34 year period.

In my view property # 4 which appreciated about 10% per year was the best investment should it have been a rental property. While property #7 increased almost seven fold compared to #4 at almost four fold increase, #4 would have received a steady income stream while the vacant land would have received no income stream and been subject to yearly taxes. Further to my previous column, I would argue that the sweet spot for rental/investment properties in Prince George is slightly above mid-range properties in excellent neighbourhoods.