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House prices surpass $1 million in West Kelowna neighbourhood: study

Vantage West Realty’s latest report says double-digit increases are being seen in many areas
10070713_web1_180105-KCN-Lakeview-Heights
The average sale price for a house in West Kelowna’s Lakeview Heights neighbourhood has now surpassed $1 million , according to Kelowna realty company. —Image: contributed

Property prices are exploding in West Kelowna according to a report issued by a local realty company.

According to Vantage West Realty, which released its winter 2017 Okanagan real estate micro-study Friday, double digit increases have been seen in many neighbourhoods, and the the average single family home price in West Kelowna’s Lakeview Heights area is now just over $1 million.

Across the lake in Kelowna’s Southeast Kelowna/Crawford area, the average price has topped $1 million.

“Kelowna is still very much a seller’s market,” said realtor A.J. Hazzi of Vantage West. “I believe we are entering into the third trimester of a boom phase. This will last 12 to 18 months before the supply and demand dynamics shift back in favour of the buyer.”

He said the area has some of the most desirable real estate in Canada, with a lifestyle that suits the two largest demographics in history—Baby Boomers and Millennials.

“A well-located real estate holding in the Okanagan will be one of the safest, most lucrative investments over the next couple of decades,” predicted Hazzi.

The Vantage West report offers in-depth analysis of the Kelowna communities of Black Mountain, Dilworth, Downtown, Glenmore/North Glenmore, Lower/Upper Mission, Rutland, Southeast Kelowna/Crawford and the University District in Kelowna, as well as West Kelowna Estates, Glenrosa, Shannon Lake, Lakeview Heights and Westbank in West Kelowna. It also includes Peachland and Lake Country, which according to the B.C. Assessment has some of the highest valued properties in the area.

The report says West Kelowna’s Lakeview Heights area saw price increases of 24 per cent, with the average single-family home selling for $1.03 million. Shannon Lake saw increases of 16 per cent with an average of $674,487 and townhomes there increased 28 per cent to an average of $488,260. Single-family homes in Westbank have experienced a 27 per cent rise in the average sales price, while apartment-style condo prices rose by 23 per cent over the past 12 months.

In Kelowna, the report says double-digit home price increases have been seen in Glenmore/North Glenmore and Southeast Kelowna/Crawford.

Single-family homes prices are up 20 per cent in Southeast Kelowna/Crawford and 16 per cent in Glenmore/ North Glenmore. In Southeast Kelowna/Crawford, the average price for a single-family home reached $1.1 million, while Glenmore saw prices at $675,546.

Premium prices for single-family homes are being seen in Lower Mission ($933,587) and Dilworth ($832,096) and Lake Country ($812,665).

But it’s not just the single-family house market that is way up, says the report.

Prices are keeping steady in the downtown condo market as well, with a slight 1.7 per cent increase. A variety of units from micro-suites to penthouses are on offer and prices range from the mid $200,000s to a high of $2 million. The average price is $387,471.

“Townhomes and apartments that fit the price range and lifestyle of Boomers and Millennials will be the hot item in the year ahead,” said Hazzi.

He said he expects the landscape of Kelowna to change in 2018 as homeowners flock to the new downtown residential towers

“We’ll see a vitality on our streets and in the shops and restaurants as the densification of the downtown core increase,” said Hazzi. “With so much renewal and re-imagining going on in our city, it is going to be exciting for residents to watch it all take shape and come alive.”

Overall, inventory of downtown condos increased year-over-year by 70 per cent, with 346 new units starts.

Last year also saw construction start on the 1151 Sunset Drive tower and resume on SOPA Square in South Pandosy.

Three other tower projects, Ella, Ellis Parc and the south tower of One Water Street, are all expected to all break ground in 2018. All three projects experienced successful pre-sale campaigns in the fall.

Overall, Kelowna and area are experiencing premium prices across all housing types, says the Vantage West report , with the average single-family house in the area now pegged at $735,523.

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