The Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (Peachland to Revelstoke) reports an all-time record of 1,069 residential sales posted to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in April, up 34.3 per cent from the same month last year.
The previous record was 1,015 unit sales recorded in May 2007.
The average MLS® residential price was up 13.4 per cent to $459,595 compared to April 2015. The dollar volume of residential sales climbed 52.3 per cent to $491.3 million compared to April of last year.
“Housing demand in the Okanagan is exceptionally strong this spring,” said Anthony Bastiaanssen, OMREB president and active REALTOR® in the Central Okanagan. “In addition to an increase in the number of local buyers, relocations from the Lower Mainland and other regions of Canada are becoming increasingly common.”
Underpinning a high level of consumer confidence is the province’s position as the best performing economy in the country, along with the attendant employment and wage growth, as well as a growing population bolstered by migrants from other provinces.
“Record consumer demand combined with the fewest active residential listings since 2007 has created sellers’ market conditions in many neighbourhoods and across most home types,” said Bastiaanssen. “This imbalance is leading to upward pressure on home prices in the region.”
The 1,805 new listings board-wide for the month were up 1.2 per cent compared to April 2015, while total active listings declined 16 per cent to 6,003 units over the same period.
OMREB covers three distinct regions from Peachland to Revelstoke: The Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Shuswap.
Central Zone (Peachland to Lake Country) Compared to April 2015: Transaction of all property types were up 47.7 per cent to 821 units.
Total residential sales for the month were up 39.9 per cent to 743 units. The sale of single family homes increased 31.2 per cent to 383 units.
Average number of days to sell a single family home was 50 days, down from 63 days in April 2015.
The 932 new residential listings taken in the Central Okanagan during the month were down 6.4 per cent from a year ago, while new single family listings were up 11.5 per cent to 496 units over the same period.