Home prices drop in the Mid-Okanagan, but that’s a different story in the North Okanagan

After two months of increases, the benchmark price for single-family homes in the Central Okanagan took another step back in December.

According to statistics released Friday by the Insider Realtors Association, the benchmark index fell 1.1% to $1,002,400 last month. This price reached $1.13 million in April, but fell to $981,800 in September before bouncing back above the $1 million mark in November.

The end of the year was smooth, but not unexpected.

« Après un premiere semestre 2022 très solide, nous commençons à voir l’activité du marché se modérer au milieu des taux d’interest constamment more élevés pratiqués by the Bank of Canada », a declaré Lindy Cruikshank, president of d’AIR, in his Press release. And although inventory levels remain tight, higher interest rates will continue to dampen market activity in the months ahead. »

The average number of days to sell a home, which AIR says is a good measure of the market, rose from 65 in November to 75 in December. 572 homes sold last month across the AIR region, which includes the Okanagan, Kamloops, and Kootenay regions, as well as the South Peace River region. That was 42% less than last December, when the market was extraordinarily strong.

The benchmark price for homes and apartments in the Central Okanagan also fell last month. The Townhouse Index fell for the fifth month in a row, to $726,300, while apartment prices fell 1.6%, to $502,800.

It was a different story in the North Okanagan, where the record price for single-family homes and townhouses rose in December. The number of single-family homes increased 1%, to $717,100, while the number of townhouse homes jumped 1.8%, to $574,400.

“Looking into 2023, we expect inventories to continue to increase, compared to recent years, with all indicators pointing to more level playing field, with buyers and sellers benefiting equally,” Cruikshank said.