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Survey: Salmon Arm houses cheaper to buy than many towns in B.C.

Only places with lower average price per square foot in study were northern communities
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While house prices may seem high to many people in Salmon Arm, they remain lower than many other parts of the Interior and the rest of B.C.

Century 21 Canada recently released its 2019 price per square foot survey, based on the first six months of the year. While there is no 2018 data available for Salmon Arm, this year’s is compared to several other centres.

“In Salmon Arm, we found detached houses averaged $263 per square foot this year, making the community very affordable compared to many places across Canada but more expensive than communities like Prince George at $156 per square foot and not far behind Vernon at $291,” states Shawn Hall, spokesperson for Century 21 Canada.

Kelowna’s average for detached houses was listed nearly on par with Salmon Arm’s, however; it’s average price per square foot was $261 compared to Salmon Arm’s $263.

Townhouses in Salmon Arm averaged $246 per square foot, compared to Vernon’s at $258. The survey lists Kelowna townhouses averaging $279.

Overall, the survey found that the price per square foot of properties declined across B.C. over the last year – often sharply, but despite the drop the province still has the priciest properties in the country, as well as some of the most affordable, the company’s news release states.

Read more: B.C. housing sales predicted to slow, prices to fall in 2019

Read more: Okanagan region property assessments continue to rise

Read more: CMHC says Vancouver market no longer ‘highly vulnerable’ as price acceleration eases

Read more: Kelowna residents need to save for 13 years for down payment on mortgage, study finds

Condos in downtown Vancouver remained the most expensive properties in Canada at $1,241 per square foot, despite a 7.74 per cent decline from the same period last year. For detached houses, Vancouver’s West Side continues to have the highest-priced properties in Canada but, states the company, for the first time since the survey started three years ago, prices fell below $1,000 per square foot, down 13.74 per cent to $990. Overall, Vancouver houses came in at $769 per square foot, down 10.15 per cent from $856 in 2018.

Houses in Tumbler Ridge went for just $84 per square foot, the least expensive community for detached houses. The lowest overall price this year in B.C. went to townhouses in Quesnel at $55 a square foot.

Vernon and Kelowna both experienced significant price decreases, states the company. Vernon saw a 20.49 per cent drop to $291 per square foot for detached houses, while the decrease was 13.05 per cent to $261 for Kelowna.

Data for the survey comes from Century 21 Canada franchisees across the country, so there was none for some communities.


@SalmonArm
marthawickett@saobserver.net

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Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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