Home prices dropping in Kamloops but rising in parts of the Okanagan
High interest rates have driven down housing prices across Canada including the southern Interior.
Kamloops followed that trend in August with the average price of homes falling by $34,000 to $70,000 from July, depending on housing type, but the picture was different and mixed in the Okanagan.
In Kelowna, for example, townhomes and condos jumped in value from $39,000 to $165,000 but the price of single-family houses fell by $30,000, according to data released by the Association of Interior Realtors today, Sept. 7.
The association covers realtors in the Thompson, Okanagan, Shuswap, Kootenay and South Peace River regions, and recorded 1,205 home sales in August, which was a slight increase over July.
“After the unpredictable hot market through the majority of last year, it is nice to see some typical seasonal consumer behaviour returning as we head into this fall,” association president Lyndi Cruickshank said in a news release. “This is a welcomed optimistic sign for a potential return of a balanced market to come, sooner than anticipated.”
Earlier in the day, RBC published a report saying most real estate markets in the country were operating at pre-pandemic levels with the Lower Mainland being one of hardest hit areas. Sales were down by 46% since the peak last winter with prices down 7% to 15%. The biggest price drops were in places like Cloverdale and Mission, which are further from Vancouver.
“The sharp rise in interest rates and partial return to office are evidently causing buyers to more significantly reprice properties away from Vancouver’s urban core,” the report said.
It was published before the Bank of Canada raised its prime lending rate by another 0.75% later in the day. This brings the rate to 3.25% and follows a full 1% increase in July.
READ MORE: Bank of Canada raises key interest rate by 0.75%, says it likely needs to go higher
The pricing drops in the Lower Mainland are reflected in Kamloops where the average price of single-family homes dropped $69,561 to $681,269, townhomes declined by $70,047 to $514,171 and condos went down $34,263 to $339,220. These were declines in the range of 9% to 12%.
In Kelowna, the average price of a single-family home continued a months-long fall but still came in at more than $1 million. The latest drop was $30,879, bringing the average price to $1,046,552.
Kelowna condos, however, shot up in average price by a whopping $165,269 to $682,653 and the average price of a townhome was up $39,334 to $746,631.
READ MORE: Why 'land assembly' signs are popping up on several Kelowna streets
The sales pattern was different in the North and South Okanagan where condo prices dropped while townhome and single-family house values went up.
In the South Okanagan, the average single-family house sold for $114,912 more in August than in July, hitting $860,038. The average price of a townhome went up by $72,873 to $542,229, while average condo prices dropped by $38,419 to $428,643.
In the North Okanagan, the average price of condos fell by $58,177 to $266,729, townhomes were up by $7,129 to $518,012 on average and single-family average home prices were up by $7,002 to $769,370.
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