Real estate sales and prices plummet in Kamloops, Okanagan
September was a bad month for the real estate market in Kamloops and the Okanagan.
While the market has been slowing over the past year because of high interest rates, prices in the region normally fluctuate each month between increases and decreases depending on location and market category.
From August to September prices fell in just about every category and region, according to data released today, Oct. 5, by the Association of Interior Realtors.
The Central Okanagan still has a benchmark price for single-family homes that's more than $1 million, but just barely, coming in at $1,006,300, down $62,300 from August.
The price of North Okanagan single-family houses fell $35,000 to $728,000, while the South Okanagan the price was down $8,000 to $762,000.
Kamloops on the other hand went the other way with a $1,700 increase in the benchmark price to $678,500.
The price of townhomes fell in all four markets with the biggest drop being $26,600 in the North Okanagan and the smallest at $2,100 in Kamloops.
The picture was better for condos with prices up in most regions.
The South Okanagan led the way with a $49,100 increase to $399,500, and Kamloops was up $16,900 to $409,200. The North Okanagan had a slight $1,100 increase to $545,400.
The Central Okanagan, which saw a $23,900 drop in townhome price, also got hammered in the condo market with a drop of $44,600 to $481,100.
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Throughout the region covered by the real estate association, sales dropped 13.3% in September compared to 2022. The region includes the Okanagan, Kamloops and Kootenay regions, as well as the South Peace River region.
“Typically the fall market starts to pick up momentum in September,” association president Chelsea Mann said in a media release. “However, sales activity for the month suggests that the weight of high interest rates continues to bog down both buyers and sellers.
"Many buyers and sellers have seemingly hit the brakes on their real estate efforts and have taken a wait-and-see approach hoping for the cost of borrowing to lighten.”
On the positive side, the shortage of listings that persisted through the COVID pandemic is easing. New listings in the association’s region were up 14.6% in September from last year and total listings were up 16.7%.
“The market slowdown does not mean that there aren’t still deals being made,” Mann said in the news release. “Homes that are priced appropriately to reflect current market conditions are still being sold at an even pace.”
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