Uncertainty is not good for consumers or real estate.

"And, uncertainty is the new normal," said Luke Turri, president of Mission Group, the developer behind the three-tower Aqua lakefront community and Alma on Abbott, the new six-storey condominium across the street from the new Pandosy Waterfront Park.

"We were hoping for sales momentum with our projects earlier this year and it didn't happen. Sales, whether they be pre-sales, new sales or resales, are slow, especially compared to historical levels. With soft sales you see construction slow down and we've certainly seen that in the last few months."

Let's put this all in perspective.

Before construction even started, pre-sales of condos at Aqua were brisk in the summer of 2021 when buyers were happy to bet on the future.

Plus, Aqua was a unique, stylish offering — a waterfront village of three towers, 13 to 17 storeys, just south of the Eldorado Hotel.

Since then a lot has happened in Kelowna and the world — inflation, supply-chain snafus, higher mortgage interest rates, escalating cost of construction, the election of Trump, trade wars and battered business and consumer confidence.

Be that as it may, 77% of the 319 condos at Aqua are sold and people are moving into well-appointed homes with lake views.

Turri is also seeing a bit of momentum for the remaining sales.

"It's spring and we hope to see another interest rate cut," he said.

"As well, there will always be demand for housing in Kelowna because of the 'pull factors' of the lifestyle, people moving here with money, people downsizing, upsizing, getting into the market for the first time, getting married or having another child."

Aqua is a specialized offering — luxury waterfront — priced from $589,900 for a small one-bedroom condo to $2.15 million for a spacious penthouse.

Thus, it appeals to potential buyers who will continue to purchase in slow times because they have money.

With softer sales, developers are likely to hold back and not start much new in the next 18-24 months, according to Turri.

"But pricing will hold because prices and rents are tied to the cost of product and the cost of product is high in Kelowna," said Turri.

"Also, with less housing coming on stream in the future because of the slowdown in construction, it will put upward pressure on competition and prices."

Turri remains bullish for the longer term.

"Kelowna has an ebb and flow and always comes back because there's demand to live in Kelowna," he summed up.

While this story is about high-end condo sales, it's also an indication story about the economy and other big-ticket purchases like home renovations, cars and big holidays.

Thus, the economy is slowing and people are spending their money carefully because they don't know what the future holds.

Another big project bringing condos to market in November is Water Street by the Park downtown at the foot of Leon Avenue.

The first two towers of the three-highrise development, including what is now Kelowna's tallest building — the 42-storey Eli — are 80% sold, according to the project's website.

KelownaNow reached out to Anthony Beyrouti, co-founder of Orchard Park Properties, the developer of Water Street by the Park, to see how sales are going in this rocky market.

"Not really commenting at this time on this stuff," he said in a short email.

"But, for the record, the market has picked up in the last month or so for condos and in general in Kelowna. Hopefully we get a few more (mortgage interest) rate cuts."

By the end of the year, people will start moving into Movala, the development beside Gyro Beach consisting of 325 condos in two elegantly curved buildings — the first 10-storeys, the second 14.

In 2021, condos in the 10-storey sold out immediately in a pre-sale release.

Condos in the 14-storey building are still for sale.

The developer of Movala — Stober Group — didn't have a spokesperson available when KelownaNow reached out for comment.

 By the way, Movala comes from MO for mountain, VA for valley and LA for lake.

Despite the iffy economy and real estate market, developers are still building and planning condo and rental apartment buildings in Kelowna.

Mission Group has plans for a 40-storey rental apartment building beside the under-construction 43-storey (which will become Kelowna's tallest) UBC Okanagan vertical campus downtown. 

One Varsity, a 35-storey condo, is planned across the street from the vertical campus.

Waterscapes has a four-tower second phase planned for the Sunset Drive corridor and a 25-storey rental apartment building could go up on the former RCMP site at 350 Doyle Ave.