(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

Residential real estate sales in Kamloops hasn’t cooled down at all through the pandemic with December sales higher than they’ve been since at least 2011.

Last month, 211 homes sold, outpacing the monthly average over the last 10 years at 128. That’s a 65% increase, according to Wendy Runge, president of the Kamloops & District Real Estate Association.

This is a stark difference in market numbers from this past April when the pandemic lockdown measures began. April housing sales had dropped 56% from the previous year but took off after the first lockdown ended.

This increase over the course of the year, however, isn't surprising to Runge, who expected to see a "significant jump as pent up demand paces the market."

The average single family home in Kamloops and area is up to $617,026, an 8.7% rise. Although typical market behaviour trends towards slower sales activity over the winter months, Runge expects the upwards trend to continue through January 2021, according to a real estate association news release.

As we settle into the new year, Runge says Kamloops realtors are prepared to continue their work through the first six months of 2021, but that there are still concerns over inventory shortage. This shortage is largely pertaining to single family dwellings, which have seen a 0.76% drop in new listings when compared to 2019. Multi-family dwellings, however, have seen a growth in new listings over 2020 with a 17.3% increase.

Runge says she expects more of the same in January.

"I am hoping more people will want to sell their homes once the vaccination becomes readily available in the next few months,” she said in the release. "Until then, we can expect the inventory to be low and average prices to be high."

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