Kelowna Real Estate Market News April 2022

Last month was yet another busy month for Kelowna Real Estate, but I was interested to hear people start to ask, is the market starting to cool?

It is true there may not have been quite as many showings with each property listed, and we are seeing more properties being listed than sold, so inventory is rising, but we are a long way away from a more balanced market.

I suspect it is more a case that the market was as busy as the previous month and not even busier.

When looking at Single-Family home sales last month, 52% sold over the asking price!

Looking through the sales last month, I saw one Development lot listed for $1million, selling for $2,450,000!

Two quotes stuck in my mind last month -:

UBCO associate professor of economics Ross Hickey in Castanet article March 18, 2022.

“It’s going to become more and more expensive to live in places like Kelowna or Prince George. Why? Because we’re not going to build housing fast enough,”

He also said -:

“Kelowna is growing at a pace unmatched among cities in Canada, according to the 2021 census. Developers have taken notice and real estate investment trusts are gobbling up existing buildings.”

Kelowna & Central Okanagan Real Estate Sales March 2022.

March 2022 Kelowna Residential Real Estate sales numbers were up again, which is to be expected as we head into spring.

Compared to the last month-:

– Total Sales were up 13% last month.

– Single-Family Homes sales were up 19.3%.

– Strata sales up 6.8%

Compared to last year -:

– Overall sales were down 33.8%

– Single-Family Home sales were down 29.8%.

– Strata sales were down 32.2%.

Inventory Levels March 2022

As you can see from this month’s Graph, inventory levels are starting to rise.

Total listings in the Central Okanagan are now 1231 up from 929 last month and down from 1,401 last year. 

Single Family & Bare Land Strata Residential 505 units up from 339 last month and up from 459 last year.

Condo – 248 up from 202 units last month and down from 373 last year.

Town Homes – 129 up from 77 last month and down from 152 last year.

Median Real Estate Prices – March 2022

Single Family Homes & Bare Land Strata 

Mar 2022 $1,151,000   Feb 2022 $1,140,950 Mar 2021 $861,250 – up 8.8% compared to last month and 33.6% compared to last year.

Condos

Mar 2022 $520,000 2021 $409,500 – up 27% compared to last year

Townhomes

2022 $786,000  2021 $498,450 – up 31.3%

Things to watch with the Kelowna Real Estate 

1.Inventory –  Inventory has started to rise, but we are nowhere near a balanced market yet.

2. Interest Rates –  BC Real Estate Associations Chief Economist wrote in his last Mortgage Forecast – “Uncertainty in global financial markets due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine could significantly delay Bank of Canada rate increases and may cause a reversal in the upward trend in long-term rates.“

4. Government Intervention –  The Government has now formally announced its intentions to create a ‘cooling off’ period for Buyers. No details are available yet.

5. Consumer Confidence –

Kind Regards

Trish Cenci

This month’s photo – View towards Kelowna from Gordon Dr.