Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. Assessment
May 05, 2020 - 3:50 PM
The COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to the housing market in the Central, North Okanagan and Shuswap as real estate sales dropped 58 per cent in April compared to the same time last year.
According to statistics from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, property sales across the region from Revelstoke to Peachland plummeted 46 per cent from March to April this year.
Single-family property sales in the Central Okanagan were the least affected but still declined 46 per cent in April. The North Okanagan saw a 61 per cent downturn in sales and the Shuswap/Revelstoke area a 79 per cent decline.
While sales across all regionals and for all types of property took a hit, the price of a single-family home or townhouse still increased.
Prices only fell for condos and apartments in the Central Okanagan and the Shuswap/Revelstoke area, and by less than one per cent in each market.
The price of a single-family home in the Central Okanagan increased 3.1 per cent in April taking the benchmark price to $678,300.
"Market activity for this time of year is usually quite healthy," Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board president Kim Heizmann said in a media release.
"The economy has taken a big shock to the system due to the pandemic and no surprise so has the real estate market. This will change in the coming weeks and months once businesses reopen and consumers who temporarily pushed pause on their buying or selling activities due to the virus will resume their real estate plans."
The numbers from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board follow suit with other markets in the Southern Interior.
The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association reported a 56 per cent slump in sales in April and the South Okanagan Real Estate Board reported a 60 per cent drop.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2020