Okanagan real estate sales increased 25% in 2021
The number of residential properties sold across the Okanagan increased by 25 per cent in 2021.
Across the province, sales were up even higher at 33 per cent.
The Kamloops area also had the highest number of real estate sales in 2021 than ever before.
And all this comes at a time when housing inventory was down roughly 40 per cent across the region.
Statistics released by the British Columbia Real Estate Association show 14,176 properties sold in the Okanagan in 2021, and a record number of 124,854 across British Columbia.
"Last year was a record year for B.C. homes sales with seven market areas setting new highs," B.C. Real Estate economist Brendon Ogmundson said in a media release. "Listings activity could not keep up with demand throughout the year. As a result, we start 2022 with the lowest level of active listings on record."
While 2020 was an irregular year because of the pandemic, even comparing 2021 figures to 2019 still shows a huge boom in real estate sales.
In 2019 there were 9,156 residential units sold across the Okanagan. That number jumped to 14,176 in 2021 – a whopping 55 per cent increase.
Across B.C. the figures are even more alarming with sales of residential units increasing by 61 per cent from 2019 to 2021.
The surge in sales and lack of housing inventory for sale has caused prices to skyrocket across the region.
The typically assessed value of a single-family home in Kelowna rose 34 per cent in 2021 and now sits at $869,000.
Penticton and Vernon also saw assessed values increase by more than 30 per cent to $637,000 and $644,000 respectively.
Kamloops saw a 27 per cent increase with the typical assessed value of a family home now sitting at $619,000.
While sales were high across 2021 as a whole, December saw sales decrease in Kamloops by 33 per cent and the Okanagan by 29 per cent, compared to December 2020.
Province-wide residential sales were down 18 per cent in December 2021.
According to the B.C. Real estate Association, residential listings were down 41 per cent to a record low of 12,179 units province-wide.
READ MORE: BIDDING WARS: Thompson-Okanagan homes selling well above listing prices
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