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Housing sales across the Central Okanagan were down by almost 25 per cent so far this year, with prices nearly five per cent lower compared to the same period in 2018. However, while prices dropped in the Central Okanagan, property owners in the North Okanagan saw substantial gains.

According to figures released by the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, residential sales of properties in the Central Okanagan saw a 24.9 per cent drop in the number of units sold, compared to 2018.

The average time it took to sell a home also increased by more than 15 per cent from 69 days in the first quarter of 2018 to 79 so far this year. The first three months of 2019 saw almost six per cent more properties listed on the market than the same months in 2018.

The average price of a home in the Central Okanagan currently stands at $510,962 down 4.6 per cent from $535,413 this time last year.

In the North Okanagan, the number of properties listed increased by six per cent compared to the first quarter of 2018, but while more homes were on the market, sales dropped by 8.5 per cent compared to this time last year. The amount of time it took to sell a home also increased slightly from 102 to 106 days, an increase of almost four per cent.

Prices in the North Okanagan rose from last year taking the current average price of a home to $482,199 from $407,821 in March 2018 - an increase of just over 18 per cent.

According to statistics from the real estate board, the number of homes listed in March jumped by more than 35 per cent in the Central Okanagan and by 31 per cent in North Okanagan compared to February. However, while the number of listings increased in March, which is typical in the springtime, so did the time it took to sell, which the real estate board says is unusual. The board says in a media release usually when housing activity increases, the number of days it takes to sell a property normally reduces.

"Despite steady increases in new listings over the past several months, housing supply is light as we head into the spring market, which is concerning and points to a problem we’ve been stressing for a while, a generalized lack of housing supply,” Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Baord president Marv Beer says in the release.

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News from © iNFOnews, 2019