Selling price for a Kelowna home drops below $1 million
Not only did real estate sales take a hammering in January compared to a year ago, the benchmark price for a single-family house fell to less than $1 million in Kelowna for the first time since December 2021.
That typical house sold for $976,800 in January in Kelowna, $25,600 less than in December 2022, a $28,000 decrease from a year earlier. House prices in Kelowna peaked at almost $1.3 million in March 2022.
The picture was just as grim in other markets served by the Association of Interior Realtors based on data it released today, Feb. 6.
Kamloops single-family house prices were down $20,600 to $605,100. That’s the same amount that North Okanagan house prices fell, with a benchmark, or typical, house selling there for $695,500. The South Okanagan took the biggest hit with a $33,000 drop to $656,500.
The selling price of condos was down in most markets as well.
Kamloops was the hardest hit with a $24,000 drop to $336,400. Kelowna condo prices were down $9,900 month over month and the North Okanagan was down $5,300. The only positive side of the condo market was the South Okanagan where prices went up $1,800.
Kelowna was the only market where townhomes increased in price with a $15,300 jump to $741,600.
Prices in the North Okanagan for townhomes fell $24,000 from December to January, by $1,000 in the South Okanagan and by $700 in Kamloops.
In terms of sales, those were down by 48.6% in total in all markets covered by the association year over year. Those include the Shuswap, Kootenay and South Peace areas. A total of 552 homes were sold in January.
“This dampening in sales activity is not unexpected given current market conditions,” association president Lyndi Cruickshank said in a news release. “Specifically, the cost of borrowing has risen over the course of the year and weighs heavily on homebuyers’ plans.”
The number of new listings saw a 7.1% increase to 1,430.
“Despite an increase in inventory, there is still a lack of affordable housing which is compounded by the high interest rates,” Cruickshank said. “We are seeing buyers and sellers holding off on their real estate intentions as their money just doesn’t get them as far as what it used to.”
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