OKANAGAN – Home sales across the Okanagan region of Revelstoke to Peachland took a sharp upward turn in May, with 1132 homes sold, a 38% increase over April, but 6% fewer sales than this time last year, reports the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB).
“Spring is typically a busy market and the May indicators certainly reflect that,” says OMREB President Tanis Read. “While we haven’t hit the sales volumes we saw this time last year, we’re not far off the peak of 1263 sales last June.”
May’s average home price, at $513,492, crept past last year’s high of $486,636 recorded last May. Average number of days on market, or the average time it takes to sell a home, was 73 days in May, as compared to 75 days in April and 77 days this time last year.
“We are seeing the effect of an increase in demand without the inventory of homes for sale to support it,” comments Read. While the lack of inventory may be easing, Read points out that the ratio of home sales to active listings, a measure of balance between supply and demand in the housing market, is currently 28% in the region, and that a ratio above 20% typically indicates a sellers’ market.
Turning to the buyers of homes in the region, the largest percentage continues to be those who reside in the region at 56%, with Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island buyers at 20%, and Albertans at 8.5%, according to a Buyers Survey of homes sales that closed in April. Those moving to a similar-type property were 19% of buyers, closely followed by first time buyers at 18.5%
“The large majority of home buyers are people who already live here, with two-parent families with children and first-time buyers always a healthy percentage,” says Reed. “Contrary to what some may think, those buying for investment purposes and foreign buyers typically make up a small portion of the total buying population, with the latest survey data showing these groups at 14% and 1% respectively.”