Real Estate analysts say house prices could start coming down this year as the market balances out from record sales of a few years ago.
While the number of homes sold in the Alberni Valley decreased for the second year in a row, year-over-year prices were still up 9% – the highest in the mid-island region.
Local realtor Chris Fenton says a sellers market followed by a building boom in the mid-island area, could create more of a buyer’s market in 2020.
“We’ve seen more properties come on the market and fewer properties sell, so it’s supply and demand, driving prices down just a little bit,” he said. “We’re seeing that in Nanaimo and Parksville and other markets that started doing that last year, so I would expect Port Alberni to follow trend this year.”
Waterfront home sales at Sproat Lake was an anomoly this year as the number of properties for sale increased by 127%, which caused the average sale price to drop by 11% from $1.4 to $1.2 million.
City building lots were the strongest performers in 2019, as 53 lots sold last year, an 18% increase from 2018, and the average price per square foot increased 16% from $8 to $9.25.
Fenton said 518 homes were listed for sale in the Alberni Valley last year, a 6% increase over 2018, and 315 sold, a 7% decrease from the 339 homes that sold the previous year.
The average sale price increased to $347,000.
