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From Peachland to Revelstoke, housing sales take a dip

The real estate market is continuing on a cooling trend.
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The real estate market is continuing on a cooling trend, with home sales from Revelstoke to Peachland slowing.

There were 709 sales posted to the Multiple Listing Service in August, which is a five per cent drop from the previous month. That figure is also 20 per cent decline from this time last year, said the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board.

“We are now six months into a cooling trend, with a curb in demand arising from natural market shifts, but intensified by government intervention in the form of tougher mortgage rules, higher interest rates and the threat of a possible speculation tax,” said OMREB President Marv Beer, in a press release.

Of note is an increase in average days on market, now at 78, up from 65 days the previous month and 69 last August.

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“While we are not seeing it as yet, downward pressure on price typically tends to occur when days on market lengthen,” said Beer, noting that average price in August was $511,916, an eight per cent drop from the previous month, but five per cent higher than this time last year.

Beer said the changes are both good and bad, pointing to the fact that moderating demand is helping ease a chronic shortage of housing supply.

On the other hand, he claims government intervention has also had the effect of making homes less affordable, as the new mortgage rules and higher interest rates mean that the buyer’s dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to. OMREB serves three diverse markets within the region: the Central Okanagan Zone (Peachland to Lake Country), the North Zone (Predator Ridge to Enderby) and the Shuswap- Revelstoke Zone (Salmon Arm to Revelstoke). For detailed statistics, by zone, visit www.omreb.com.

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