How floods have impacted the housing market in Merritt, Princeton
Demand for housing in Merritt and Princeton appears to be back to normal after the two communities were devastated by floods in November 2021, but the supply has gotten leaner.
Princeton realtor Lee Mowry had family living in the affected area who needed immediate help in the emergency.
In the meantime, some sales at his firm were falling apart because of the flood.
“A couple of deals went sideways for us,” he said. “There were deals we didn’t finalize because of the flooding – the property they were planning to buy has been substantially changed.”
Mowry grew up in Princeton and said it was surreal and mesmerizing to see familiar places like the downtown streets being flooded, and the Similkameen River rising so close to the bottom of the iconic brown bridge on Bridge Street.
“Once the water overpowered the dikes and there was a breach, it diverted part of the river and went right down Lime Street,” Mowry said.
He can remember walking home from school as a young teen in 1995 when another major flooding event took place, but said the 2021 event was even worse.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Flooding, mudslides cut off B.C. Interior from Lower Mainland
The majority of the homes impacted by November's flooding were between 80 and 100 years old, he said. They were built by Princeton’s earliest settlers of European descent, and the modest homes were among Princeton's more affordable.
“As far as price point goes – homes that were listed for 350 (thousand dollars) and under – a lot of that market got damaged,” he said.
He noticed most homeowners returned to their flooded properties as soon as possible to salvage and mitigate damage, but a couple appear to be “untouched” since the damage occurred nearly three months ago. He heard some of the affected properties were “tweaked” off their foundations and suspects those will be tear-downs.
He said one local told him they can’t afford to fix their damaged home, and asked him for a rough idea as to how much they can sell it for once it’s been ”gutted to the studs.”
When Mowry got into the real estate business 15 years ago, he said there was always a much healthier supply than there is now. From 2015 to 2018, he noticed around 200 listings would typically be available in the Princeton area at any given time.
Since the start of the pandemic there has been a “massive decrease,” he said.
“Right now we currently have 32 or 33 properties on the market.”
None of the old-timers Mowry knows from local real estate have ever seen inventory this low, he said.
But despite the diminishing supply and the lack of sales following last year's flooding, Mowry said demand has returned to normal in the local real estate market.
“We actually did more sales in January this year than last year.”
Beyond the pandemic and flooding challenges, Mowry feels like Princeton’s real estate is being held back by aging infrastructure, and profit margins that aren’t good enough to attract developers to build subdivisions.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Drone video captures aerial view of Merritt flooding
The housing market was impacted similarly in Merritt. Despite being located nearly 100 kilometres away from Princeton, the city was also impacted by severe flooding that began on the same day, Nov. 15.
Merritt realtor John Issac said demand remains high but there is “way less inventory.”
So far in 2022, the number of sales are about half of what they were this time last year, Issac said, “but I think that’s due to lack of inventory,” he added.
“The flooding has contributed to the lack of inventory because who knows how many of those people would have considered listing.”
Issac said the impact of the flooding slowed down sales “dramatically” for about two weeks.
READ MORE: Merritt residents are scrambling to save their flood ravaged homes
Jared Thomas, who’s also a realtor in Merritt, said it’s too early to know for sure what impact the flooding might have had on local housing prices, but he feels like it’s obvious that the demand is up and the supply is down.
“There’s lot of interest in Merritt – from investors on the coast, displaced people in Merritt, displaced people from the fires in Lytton – take your pick.”
Homebuyers who feel priced out of Kamloops are also considering moving to Merritt, Thomas added.
There was a “pause” on real estate sales that lasted for about two months, but by the middle of January things were back to normal, he said.
“Because of the lack of inventory, prices are taking off again.”
There may be a silver lining for some flood victims, he said, as anybody filing an insurance claim to replace an aging furnace or hot water heater will likely see the value of their home increase.
Also, he knows a couple who moved into a new home shortly before the flooding. They had plans to give it a major facelift, but those plans were originally on the back burner.
“I know it’s not the way most people want to go about it but it fast tracks their renovation plans,” he said.
With a slower pace of life, the light traffic, close proximity to wilderness and Nicola lake, and only a few hours away from so many bigger cities – Thomas expects the demand to live in Merritt will remain strong for years to come.
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