Home sales down, prices still going up

Home sales plunged by 25% in May on a year-over-year basis across the Okanagan, yet prices kept climbing, according to fresh data from the Association of Interior Realtors.

The 1,687 completed deals, while down significantly compared to May 2021, only marked a 1% decline from April 2022 figures.

“At this time, that is a fairer comparison as it compares two normal months rather than comparing one month of unusual real estate movement with one that is within a normalized range. An apples-to-apples comparison, if you will,” said association president Lyndi Cruickshank in a press release.

The association views 2021 as an anomaly due to pent-up demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic that put upward pressure on prices.

Realtors are now bracing for downward pressure on prices as a result of rising interest rates, but there’s no sign yet of a cool-down in the association’s numbers.

“It is important for buyers and sellers alike to understand that sales are not the same thing as value. The value of homes in the region remains steady and hasn’t gone down, despite sales, which is the number of homes sold, dipping slightly,” said Cruickshank.

“Demand remains high in the region, even with the tightening of mortgage rates. Hopefully we will see even more inventory coming on to market in the warm summer months to help meet that demand.”

In May, a benchmark single-family home in the Central Okanagan traded for $1.1 million, about the same as in April.

The same home in the South Okanagan moved for $826,000, up from $771,000 in April, while in the North Okanagan it changed hands for $807,000, up from $789,000 in April.

(Benchmark properties are those the realtors’ association considers to be “typical” assets and are viewed as a more accurate indicator than pure averages.)

Meanwhile, the number of active residential listings in the Central Okanagan rose from 1,334 in April to

1,605 in May.

In the South Okanagan, the number of active listings rose from 555 to 690, and in the North Okanagan spiked from 354 to 524.

Across the entire Okanagan, the average number of days required to sell a home rose from 39 to 41 on a month-over-month basis.