KIM HEIZMANN
KELOWNA – Residential real estate sales across the region from Revelstoke to Eastgate Manning Park and into the South Peace River region are showing signs of normal seasonal activity for the month of September, reports the Association of Interior Realtors.
“There has been a lot of talk about high demand and while we are still seeing a strong demand it actually is within a healthy range,” says the Association of Interior realtors President Kim Heizmann, adding that “the amount of supply is just so low creating an imbalance that makes demand seem overwhelming.”
In the month of September, residential sales for the entire Association region saw a slight decrease over August’s 1,140 sales totaling 1,067 sales. The year-over-year comparison showed a decrease of 29 per cent from September 2020’s total sales of 1,513.
The supply of active residential listings dropped 40 per cent across the Association region compared to the 4,781 active listings during the same month last year, while new listings only had an 18 per cent decrease over last year September’s 1,729 units.
“Usually, we do see an influx of new listings in the fall once children go back to school and families want to move before the Christmas holiday, and we are starting to see that with new listings coming on the market. So seasonally the real estate market is showing signs of pre-pandemic normalcy,” says Heizmann.
The benchmark price for homes in the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions are consistently showing double-digit percentage increases in year-over-year comparisons in all home categories. This trend is also seen in the South Okanagan, where benchmark pricing is now available.
In the South Peace River Region, where benchmark pricing is not available, average sale prices for single-family homes increased 1.3 per cent but decreased 7 per cent in the condominium category.
