The local residential real estate market demand showed no signs of cooling towards the end of 2020 as demand drove the real estate market to finish the last month of 2020 on a high note with exceptional sales volumes across the region. Residential sales for December in the region of Revelstoke to Peachland increased 65% compared to December 2019’s residential sales, coming in at 661. The South Okanagan region, stretching from Summerland to Eastgate Manning Park also saw an unexpected jump of 201 units sold of overall property sales compared to the previous year’s 107. “Last year was a very unusual year, after an initial slowdown due to stay-at home orders from the provincial government we saw a high demand in the real estate market, once orders were lifted that did not wane even in the typically slower months. Despite unusually high demand, inventory of active listings consistently remained low as buyers snapped up homes almost as soon as they were listed. Particularly in the family-sized homes category.”
The supply of homes for sale, is still struggling to meet the high demand and continues to put upward pressure on pricing. With low inventories coupled with buyer demand still high, this trend will likely continue in the coming months and into the usually busy spring season. The benchmark price for single-family homes in the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Shuswap/ Revelstoke regions clocked in double-digit percentage increases in year-over-year comparisons. In the South Okanagan and the South Peace River region where benchmark pricing is not yet available, the average sales price for single-family homes surged 37% and 15% year-over-year respectively. Canadian inflation also continues to remain subdued and the Bank of Canada is expected to continue to keep interest rates low. Record low mortgage rates will therefore continue to be supportive of the housing market and housing prices.
Source: OMREB Prepared by: Steve Neil
