As expected, residential sales in the Okanagan rose from February to March, but are well below what was seen at this time last year.

There were 628 sales across the region, from Revelstoke to Peachland, in March, up 25% from February, but that number is 24% less than what was seen in March 2017.

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“While the market was busier than February, as is the norm this time of year, sales were substantially down from last March,” explained Tanis Read, president of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB).

“At this point, it’s difficult to know whether this is significant or if it is simply an anomaly.”

One thing that didn’t fall over the last was the average housing price, which at $521,192 was 10% higher than March 2017 and 2% higher than in February.

Average time on the market and the amount of new listings in March were fairly consistent with what was seen a year ago as well.

“If we were to focus solely on sales volume, we might anticipate movement towards a balanced market, although current housing inventory is nowhere near what it would need to be to meet the definition of such a market,” said Read.

“However, average price, days on market and new listings are all generally consistent with this time last year, so it’s anybody’s guess as to whether or not March’s stats are the beginning of a trend.”

Read did note that a number of external factors, like the recent speculation tax, could impact the Okanagan’s housing market.

She cautions that is could be the tipping point that takes the market from a gradual downturn to a potentially steep decline.

OMREB serves three diverse markets within the region, which are the Central Okanagan Zone (Peachland to Lake Country), the North Zone (Predator Ridge to Enderby) and the Shuswap-Revelstoke Zone (Salmon Arm to Revelstoke).