Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. Assessment
April 01, 2020 - 2:15 PM
The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association released their statistics for the month of March. Despite a strong start to the month, things quickly declined because of COVID-19 and it seems the market will be impacted throughout the year because of the pandemic.
“The housing market in Kamloops and the surrounding area started on a brisk pace in March as we entered the typical spring flurry. However, as the impact of COVID-19 started to take hold in the second half of the month, the real estate market also slowed as sellers decided to wait to list their home, or in many cases took their homes off the market, and buyers stayed home or delayed plans for purchasing,” said Wendy Runge, president of the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association in the release.
Last month, the association worried about the low number of inventory of listed homes. There has been a slight increase in inventory from the end of February when 936 homes were still on the market, compared to the 971 homes for sale in Kamloops and area at the end of March, although March of this year paled in comparison to the same time last year. There was a 10.3 per cent decrease in the number of homes listed during the month, with 375 homes entering the market last month compared to 418 listed in March of 2019. Overall, the end of March total inventory has shown a 3.4 per cent decrease from this year to last.
Runge expects most sales models will drop between five and 20 per cent for this year, depending on how long the pandemic lasts.
“COVID-19 is currently having a dramatic impact on the real estate market, as it is in many other sectors, and this is likely to persist for some time,” Runge said. “We anticipate a much slower pace in the upcoming months which will impact market activity for the next several months. Once restrictions are lifted, economists are calling for a strong resurgence in sales and market activity.”
Although COVID-19 may leave a significant mark on the real estate market throughout the year, the month of March still saw slight growth due to the strong start. The beginning of the month accounted for a 1.4 per cent increase in sales compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales also grew slightly higher with an increase of 1.6 per cent, as 561 homes have traded hands in 2020 compared to 552 to the same time last year. The majority of homes were sold within the $400,000 to $500,000 price range, with 49 homes trading hands in that bracket. The second busiest bracket was the $300,000 to $400,000, which saw 43 homes sold.
Despite the slowing of sales in the latter half of the month, home prices remained steady. The Kamloops median price remained around $500,000. There was a small 1.2 per cent gain in the price of the average single family home price, which grew to $494,990 compared to last March’s average of $488,777.
Even though the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association expects a slower year because of the pandemic, they remind potential home buyers and those who want to list that there are still options. It’s noted that many homes offer virtual tours, while agents are setting up video calls with their clients.
If you want more information on the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, check out their website.
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