The residential real estate market across the Okanagan region of Revelstoke to Peachland turned in another solid month in April, with indicators comparable to the previous month, reports the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB).
“Demand for properties in the Valley continues to be strong,” says OMREB President Tanis Read. “People want to live in the Valley and more listings are needed to keep pace with this demand.”
821 properties sold in April, comparable to March’s 824 but down 23% over this time last year. New listings at 1,378 were comparable to new listings in March and the 1,490 new listings this time last year.
Average price was $478,715, slightly over March’s $475,172 and just 4% over April of last year. The average days on market is 75 days.
“These are indicators of a more traditional spring market than what we experienced last year,” commented Read. “While sales this time last year were 23% higher, we also had more inventory to support the higher volume, at 20% more than we have available now.”
Low inventories, an issue facing many provincial regions, means that buyers may encounter multiple- offer situations in some of the more high demand areas. Supply pressure is also likely to impact pricing.
Geographically, locals account for more than half of all homebuyers at 58%, followed by those from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island at 17% and Alberta at 10%. Foreign buyers were just 3% of the total buyer population.
“These results are relatively consistent with the makeup of 2016 buyers and, for the most part, buyers who purchased two years ago,” says Read, noting that the main difference is that, in the last two years, buyers from the Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island have surpassed those from Alberta.
