As the temperatures continue to drop, residential market inventory is slowly on the rise…
Housing Market at a Glance
The Okanagan property market continued to experience growth in inventory throughout October, while the number of real estate sales held steady.
Even though sales dropped by nearly 50% last month compared to the uncommonly strong market that was October 2021, there were still 1,001 happy new homeowners across the region. When paired against sales from September, the number of homes sold was less, but dipping only by 7.6%.
“Unlike the last two years or so where we saw buyers’ and sellers’ expectations drastically unaligned from each other, a shift from the frenzy earlier this year coupled with the winter seasonal slowdown is bringing some equilibrium to the market amidst rising interest rates,” says the Association of Interior REALTORS® President Lyndi Cruickshank, adding, “motivated buyers’ and sellers’ expectations are able to come closer together, resulting in a much more positive home buying and selling experience.”
Inventory
Across the Okanagan, new listings took a small slide last month (1,689) – down by 9.8% compared to the number of homes available in the same month last year. However, overall inventory provided buyers with a significant 67.5% increase over the same period. October gave buyers a large property pool to choose from, with 7,450 homes available on the market.
“It’s nice to see active listings starting to build back up again,” notes Cruickshank, adding, “however, we are not quite out of what is considered a seller’s market and into a balanced market.”
Benchmark Prices
The Benchmark Price for homes in the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and South Okanagan regions saw increases in year-over-year comparisons across all home categories, while the Shuswap/Revelstoke region was the exception, showing a decrease in the single-family home category but seeing increases in townhome and condominium benchmark prices.
The benchmark price for single-family homes in the Shuswap/Revelstoke was down 4.1% compared to October 2021, coming in at $673,300.
Average Days on Market
As a buyer (or seller) a good barometer to watch is the average number of days it takes to sell a home – in your region, area, or neighbourhood. Last month, this number increased to 64 das, from 50 back in September. It’s important to note here that this figure (the average days on market) is the for the entire Okanagan region and that indicator will always vary depending on the home type and sub-region.
Searching For Your New Havn?
Given the high stakes on such a significant financial transaction, home sellers and buyers can benefit from the knowledge and skills of a practiced REALTOR®. There’s a reason our Stilhavn agents are top-performers in each of our markets – we push boundaries, embrace challenges and we work hard to feed our passion, which is helping you to successfully #findyourhavn.
All market statistics are courtesy of The Association of Interior REALTORS®.
*The Association of Interior REALTORS® is a member-based professional organization serving approximately 2,500 REALTORS® who live and work in communities across the interior of British Columbia including the Okanagan Valley, Kamloops and Kootenay regions, as well as the South Peace River region.
The Association of Interior REALTORS® was formed on January 1, 2021 through the amalgamation of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board and the South Okanagan Real Estate Board. The Association has since also amalgamated with the Kamloops & District Real Estate Association and the Kootenay Association of REALTORS®.
