Home sales on track for record-breaking year in Kamloops
Real estate sales dropped slightly for in Kamloops and area in September, but that doesn't mean the demand for homes has done the same.
The average price for a single-family home in the Kamloops area was $552,814 last month, compared to $498,190 in September 2020, according to a news release from the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association.
The average price tag was higher than last year, but with 296 sales in September 2021, that represents a 14% drop when compared to the 345 deals closed in September 2020.
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"We have seen sales numbers drop a little since they peaked in April 2021, but I’m glad that there has not been any abrupt fluctuation in our performance," association president, Chelsea Mann, said in the release.
Mann remains confident there is still strong demand for homes in the Kamloops area, but acknowledge that high prices doesn't necessarily mean homeowners stand to gain in the current market.
"Some sellers are holding off from listing," Mann said. "Although they stand to benefit financially on the sale, they will be faced with difficulty in finding their next home once they become the buyer."
So far, 2,962 homes have been sold in the Kamloops area this year. The next highest sales year in the last decade was 2017, with 2,632 homes sold from January to September.
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The real estate association has seen both local buyers, and those from elsewhere in the Kamloops area this year, which Mann said has put added pressure on home prices in a city that lacks inventory.
The real estate association has also seen the number of listings stagnate over the last three months.
There was 896 homes actively listed for sale in the region as of Oct. 3, 2021. At the end of August, there were 875 listed.
"This problem of extreme lack of inventory is a puzzle that will stay with us for a while," Mann said. "Once the environment around real estate transactions changes and the inventory crunch balances out, the same demand that we see today may not be able to fetch the same value for sellers when it happens."
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