Real estate sales cooling off in Okanagan, Kamloops
After record high months of sales as buyers scramble to find homes, the real estate market in the Okanagan and Kamloops is beginning to slow down.
There were 1,482 home sold in May in the Okanagan, down from April’s 1,719. In Kamloops, 388 homes were sold last month, down from the 382 that changed hands in April.
The Kamloops real estate market is showing signs of a slight relaxation, as the sales numbers level out, but not to the same degree of slowdown that most of the other regions in B.C. have seen after their sales peaked in April 2021.
"As we haven't entered the post-pandemic market, I wouldn't say that the market has necessarily peaked in Kamloops for 2021 yet," Kamloops and District Real Estate Association president Chelsea Mann said in a media release. "Our sales figures in May have indeed fallen by a few units as compared to April, but this is a regular annual trend.
"I look at it more like an indicator that the market is balancing itself towards stability. If you notice, our May 2021 sales figures are still very strong and Kamloops realtors have been out-performing themselves month-on-month. I am looking forward to the next couple of months, as we usually see a spike in sales during summer.”
Association of Interior Realtors president Kim Heizmann said in a release that there was a "slight reduction in pressure that is creating a calming effect for a healthier market for both buyers and sellers."
Heizmann said they are seeing an easing up on the gas pedal that has been going above the speed limit to a more reasonable pace.
“While the market may be slowing down from an all-time record, it does not mean the market has softened, it means the buyer frenzy has calmed down slightly,” Heizmann said.
The benchmark price for homes in the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions once again saw double-digit percentage increases in year-over-year comparisons in all home categories categories. In the South Okanagan, where benchmark pricing is currently not available, average sales prices were also up year-over-year in all home categories with single-family homes seeing the highest percentage increase of 42%.
The average residential price was up 24.7%, $535,175 in the Kamloops region.
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