This week, the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board released information on the fall’s residential home sales in the Okanagan.
Photo Credit: KelownaNow
According to OMBREB, sales were lower in October, compared to previous months, and slightly lower than the month of October in 2016.
In October 2017, 736 residential sales were posted through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the Okanagan region, from Peachland to Revelstoke.
This is a 6% decrease in residential sales, compared to October 2016’s 740 sales.
Between September and October 2017, the number of listings dropped significantly, with 898 new listings in October, compared to September’s 1118 listings.
According to Tanis Read, it's normal to see a drop in sales and new listings during this time of year.
“Not unusual for this time of year, October sales and new listing volumes were both slightly lower than previous months, with both indicators in the range of what we were seeing this time last year,” stated Tanis Read, president of OMBREB.
It also took longer to sell a home in October than in September.
On average, it took 83 days to sell a home in October and 78 days in September.
However, Read believes that change in the average selling price is a strong factor in sales.
The average residential price recorded was $526,418 for October – a 6% increase from September and a 16%-increase from this time last year.
Read describes the current market as a seller’s market – fewer homes are for sale and there’s a huge market of buyers.
“While lack of available homes for sale continues to be a problem and a major contributor to pricing, the good news, at least for some parts of the region we serve, is the number of new, multi-family residences that are closing in on completion."
The seller's market also creates challenges for the sellers who are looking for a new home.
According to OMREB, between January to September 2017, first-time buyers made up 20% of the market and 56% of buyers were from within the region.
As well, 18% of buyers were from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and 11% were from Alberta.
