Short-term rental ban coincides with real estate listing spike in Kamloops, Okanagan
Housing inventory in the southern Interior is on the rise as benchmark prices for real estate are down in the Okanagan.
The Association of Interior Realtors released its June report today, July 5, showing a slight change in home prices, and a dramatic increase in inventory.
The increase in inventory was consistent across the market in June. Housing inventory went up by roughly 50 per cent in nearly every region around Kamloops, and the Okanagan with the exception of a 115 per cent increase in condos and apartments in Shuswap.
“It is interesting to see most of the regions with the highest inventory increases are in areas where income-producing properties may be affected by government policies such as the short-term rental ban,” association president Kaytee Sharun said in a media release.
The provincial government's ban on short-term rentals came into effect in May. The regulation affects short-term rentals like Airbnb, and requires British Columbians to rent out space in their principal residence rather than buying up properties to use as a de facto hotel.
Across the southern Interior, June saw a 36 per cent increase in listings compared to last year, for a total of 9,986 new listings.
READ MORE: Real estate prices down in most of Okanagan, up in Kamloops
For a single family home the benchmark price in Central Okanagan dropped by 5.7 per cent to $1,009,200. In North Okanagan, the price fell by 4.6 per cent to $752,400, and in South Okanagan prices fell by 5.8 per cent to $748,100.
In Kamloops, the benchmark price for single family homes rose by just 0.3 per cent to $652,300.
Benchmark prices are the estimated price for a typical home within each market rather than a calculated average.
“Much like the weather, real estate sales activity in June was not the typical seasonal activity that we have seen in recent years that tends to increase as the warmer climate arrives,” Sharun said. “Well-priced properties are primed to move at a faster pace.”
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