Pemberton Real Estate Market Update: July 2021

The Pemberton real estate market in the first half of 2021 continued to perform at historically high levels for both numbers of transactions and average sales values.

Interest in the area, particularly for buyers looking to establish primary residences to raise families, combined with a low number of active listings has created pent-up demand for real estate in the Village of Pemberton and surrounding rural areas. Low-interest rates and easy access to capital combined with this demand has increased values significantly since the start of the year.

Both the already built (re-sale) and new construction market attracted strong responses. New offerings at Sunstone, Mountainside and Tiyata have been introduced and successfully sold. Builders and developers are aggressively pursuing opportunities to bring more homes to the market in the future.

At the current time, however, active listings remain historically low, and pent-up demand will ensure that existing properties brought to the market will receive immediate attention from buyers through the balance of the year.

Pemberton Real Estate Market Snapshot

As a micro-market, reported market activity in Pemberton is largely driven by what has been offered for sale. This fact is only reinforced when the number of active listings is at historically low levels. Single-family homes and building lots account for over 50% of all activity in the area in the first half of 2021. Given the profile of most purchasers, this should not be surprising. There is strong interest for the lower-priced segment (generally condominiums and townhouses) but the lack of active listings dramatically limits the number of sales.

The overall average sales value reported on June 30th was $886,000, a jump of approximately 25% from the end of 2020. This can be attributed to significant increases in the average sales value of single-family homes and townhouses.

A Closer Look

Currently, the reported average sales value of a single-family home in the Pemberton area starts at $1,168,000, a 24% increase from the start of the year. Townhouses have increased by 22% to $749,000.

Although the condominium market has not been as active as the other sectors this is solely due to the lack of availability. Strong interest in condominiums is evidenced by the very short time on the market for any property listed, and the multiple offers that always occur in this category. Overall condominium sales value has risen 15% since the start of the year.

Current transactions indicate that the average price per square foot sales values, for medium density properties, is now approximately $593.00/per SQFT, an increase of almost 20% from the start of the year.

The building lot sector continued to be active due to strong interest in The Ridge and the newest phase of the Sunstone development. The average sales value for a building site now exceeds $500,000.

Looking Ahead to Next Quarter

The high level of interest in Pemberton along with the demand for real estate in the area has reduced active listings to historically low levels. Although a number of new housing projects are in the works, it will be sometime before supply catches up with demand.

Pemberton continues to be not only a desirable place to live, work and play, it continues to be priced below other communities in the Sea to Sky corridor. As pandemic restrictions relax, we expect to see more interest in the area. A recovering economy and the expectation of continued low-interest rates will continue to fuel demand. We expect sales activity to be brisk for the properties brought to market in the second half of 2021.

That being said, buyer frustration due to a lack of choice in lower price ranges or an upward move in interest rates/inflation that impacts perceived purchasing power may result in the typical Pemberton buyers removing themselves, should prices move significantly higher from current levels.

Overall, we expect that the second half of 2021 will see a moderation in the number of transactions compared to the first half, and a return to historical levels of activity in the market will continue to strongly favor sellers and support value appreciation.

For more information about how the current Pemberton real estate market may impact your decisions to buy or sell, contact me any time.