Photo: Contributed
The housing market in Central Okanagan, which had been blazing hot at record levels in the past few months, has finally taken a breather.
However, prices are still in the stratosphere.
May data released Thursday by the Association of Interior Realtors showed that the benchmark price for a single-family home in Central Okanagan surged above $ 900,000 for the first time. The benchmark price, which represents an apartment with typical attributes for those traded in the area, was a whopping $ 901,600, up from $ 880,000 in April.
A year ago, the guide price for a single family home in Central Okanagan was $ 685,900. Prices have skyrocketed $ 120,000 in three months.
While the benchmark price hike for single family homes hasn’t been as sharp over the past month, the same cannot be said for townhouses. The benchmark price in the Central Okanagan rose a remarkable 10.9% last month, from $ 560,900 in April to $ 621,800 in May.
“The pressure eases slightly, which has a calming effect for a healthier market for both buyers and sellers,” said AIR President Kim Heizmann in a press release. “We’re seeing a release of the accelerator pedal that went past the speed limit to move at a reasonable pace now.
“Although the market has slowed from an all-time record, that doesn’t mean the market has slowed down. That means that the customer craze has calmed down a bit. “
The situation is similar in North Okanagan, where the benchmark single-family home price was $ 641,100 in May. That was up from $ 617,000 in April, an increase of 3.9%. The shocking number, however, is that the benchmark price was only $ 541,900 in January.
The price of townhouses in North Okanagan rose just $ 6,100 between April and May and was $ 424,400 last month.
1,482 homes were sold in May, up from 1,719 in April, in the AIR area, which includes Revelstoke in the east to Eastgate Manning Park in the west and the South Peace River area.
The number of active entries fell from 2,818 to 2,554.
Photo: Contributed
