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Neil Frost, president of the region’s real estate board, said he’s seen a wave of young people driven out of areas surrounding Metro Vancouver, from Hope to Squamish.

Non-residents have made up about 50 per cent of the buyers in Powell River over the past couple years, said Frost. Prices have grown about 20 per cent, he added, far lower than the surging values in and around Metro Vancouver.

Figures from the B.C. Real Estate Association show Powell River led the province in January for both the number and total value of residential sales, compared with the same period last year. Residential sales jumped 82 per cent to $6.3 million.

“The people in Squamish really felt the pinch,” Frost said. “So many times I had the story, ‘Hey, Neil. This was the year I was going to buy in Squamish. House prices went from $450,000 to $750,000. â¦ I can’t do it. I can’t. So show me something in Powell River.”‘

Jennifer Weaver, her partner Chris Lacoste and their newborn moved to Powell River last year.

Prices in Squamish “exploded” after Weaver and Lacoste bought a mobile home in the community eight years ago for $130,000, she said.

“You have a lot of these outdoor, adventurous, spirited people who maybe don’t want to spend their entire salaries on rent, who are now having to change up their lifestyle in a way to afford to live there. And we just didn’t want to do that,” she said.

They sold their mobile home for nearly $190,000 and were able to buy a three-bedroom house in Powell River with an ocean view and mountain biking trails leaving from their backyard for $215,000.