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October 06, 2015 - 9:00 PM
OKANAGAN - As goes the weather, so goes real estate activity, according to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, which is reporting a cooling of sales in September after a robust summer.
The Central Okanagan and Shuswap markets continue to strengthen and see an improvement year-to-date over last year,” board president Christopher Miller says in a press release.
Sales action in the North Okanagan continued to lag after a strong year in 2014 though, Miller says.
Overall September sales dropped 10.5 per cent in the Central Okanagan, with 495 units changing hands compared to 553 in the same month last year.
Year-to-date sales activity was up 6.7 per cent, with 4,582 units sold compared to 4,294 by the same point last year.
Sales slowed by a similar amount in the Shuswap compared to September 2014, dropping 10.8 per cent with 116 units sold this year and 130 last year.
Year-to-date sales activity inched up 4.1 per cent with 907 units sold this year compared to 871 in 2014.
Sales activity in the North Okanagan declined by seven per cent with 173 units selling in September this year versus 186 last year.
Year-to-date sales activity dropped 5.5 per cent to 1,359 units from 1,505 units in 2014.
Signalling a strong market, the Central Okanagan saw a drop in the time it takes to sell a house to 62 days compared to 69 days in September 2014. Year-to-date, a house will sell in an average 64 days compared to 73 days last year.
In the Shuswap, average listing time was up to 145 days in September 2015, compared to 138 days last year. Year-to-date listing average was 120 days compared to 138 days in 2014.
Miller says the province is leading the country in economic growth and consumer confidence remains high, bolstering demand.
“The inventory of homes for sale remains at low levels with essentially no significant upward momentum over the past few months.”
To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015