Prince Rupert realty bucks downward trend

After a slow 2009 the market in Prince Rupert continues to outpace other Northwest communities. In the first six months of 2010 71 properties sold in Prince Rupert compared to 44 in 2009. In dollar terms, $13.7 million compared to $7.4 million in 2009. The median price is $187,000 with average days on the market coming in at 141. At the end of June there were 262 properties on the market.
Prince Rupert is the only community in the Northwest to have seen an increase in sales this year. Terrace fell from 134 in 2009 to only 94 in 2010 while Kitimat saw a small decrease from 48 to 45. There were also fewer homes listed at the end of June 2010 then there were at the end of June 2009; in Terrace there are 316 properties listed, up from 281 in June 2009 and Kitimat jumped markedly from 128 to 160.
The interesting question is: why? Why has Prince Rupert's real estate market improved by 61% over a 12 month period? Why has the surrounding communities markets not followed suit, indeed headed in the opposite direction?
My answer is this; opportunity and getting ahead of the competition. Prince Rupert stands on the threshold of an unprecedented economic boom and savvy investors from the Lower Mainland and Alberta particularly have been arriving in town and cherry-picking some prime real estate before the announcements are made because that is when the greatest value can be realised.
Folks in Prince Rupert sometimes fail to look at the City from an outsiders point of view. The outsiders are looking and seeing value at every turn, the locals are, to a certain extent, burdened by memories of potential booms in the past that never quite materialised.
Real estate has no memory. It is only concerned with economic fact or possibilty, not with history.
This buyers market is coming to an end.

Good news, bad news cycle continues in Rupert

First, the good news. Coast Tsimshian Resources (CTR) have agreed a deal with Chinese company Xinyixinrun Plywood Manufacturing to sell 193,000 cubic metres of logs and custom cut lumber over the next year. This doubles the company's turnover overnight and is projected to create 150 new jobs in Prince Rupert and Terrace.
Also, Canada and China have signed a formal agreement establishing Approved Destination Status between the two nations. This allows easier access into China from Canada and vice versa. Chinese visitors to British Columbia are expected to increase by 15% next year, good news for both business and tourism.
The bad news is that after 100 years The Daily News, Prince Rupert's only daily newspaper is closing its doors. The ownership has changed hands with the new owners, Black Press, immediately announcing its intention to close the paper down. It cannot be mere coincidence that Black Press owns the only other newspaper in town, a weekly publication called The Northern View.
The loss of The Daily News will be keenly felt in the community and I hope that some accomodation can be reached that means we continue to have our local paper. Alas, the global depression that has engulfed print media over the last ten years appears to have claimed another victim.