Evening sunset over Kelowna last week
by Elizabeth Holly Photography

Kelowna Real Estate News

August 2018

The cooling trend continues as you can see in our graphs below. Listings are up and sales are down. We see two reasons why our average price dropped $95K from the previous month. One, in July our average price was unusually high, an extra $65K higher due to many sales in the higher price ranges. Reason two, is that historically, the average price in August is lower than July. In this case, it is down $30K from where July should have been. This doesn’t mean that prices are falling $95,000 per month. This is simply an average of what people are spending.
As far as the government is concerned, that is what they were looking for, a cooling of the market.

Home sales have continued their expected seasonal decline and we are teetering on a balanced/buyers market for single family homes. 3 weeks in August were unusually slow, likely due to the smoke. We noticed quite an uptick in activity and calls once the smoke receded, so we are very curious to see what September will bring and how the fall market will do.

Sales in the Single Family Homes slowed to 190 this August, 18% less than this time last year. That puts Single Family Homes just under the 10 year average.

Listings there are currently only 1,265 active listings, which is 32% more than August 2017. August 2008, there were almost 2,000, so we have a long ways to go to get there.

Listings vs. Sales 15.02% of the listing inventory sold in August, this keeps us JUST in a balanced market, but teetering between a buyers and balanced market.

Average Price for Kelowna was $687,413, this is more in line with where it belongs. Last month was skewed upwards to $780,000 by many solds over $1 Million.

Apartment and Townhomes

A total of 191 units sold in Kelowna and area this August. 21% of the listing inventory sold in Townhomes and of Apartments sold, which keeps them well positioned in a balanced market.

Lots

16 lots sold on MLS out of 416 available this August which makes it a 4% sell to inventory ratio. The average price came in at $417,478

Major Cities Report

Victoria

Market Simmers at the End of Summer

A total of 594 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this August, 19.3 per cent fewer than the 736 properties sold in August of last year. Sales of condominiums were down 5.3 per cent from last year in August with 195 units sold. Sales of single family homes were down 22.1 per cent from 2017 with 304 sold this August. There were a total of 2,519 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of August 2018, a decrease of 3.4 per cent compared to the month of July but 31.4 per cent more than the 1,917 active listings for sale at the end of August 2017.

Vancouver

Home Buyer Demand Stays Below Historical Averages in August

The Metro Vancouver* housing market continues to experience reduced demand across all housing types. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totaled 1,929 in August 2018, a 36.6 per cent decrease from the 3,043 sales recorded in August 2017, Last month’s sales were 25.2 per cent below the 10-year August sales average. The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 11,824, a 34.3 per cent increase compared to August 2017 (8,807) Sales of detached properties in August 2018 reached 567, a 37.1 per cent decrease from the 901 detached sales recorded in August 2017. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,561,000. This represents a 3.1 per cent decrease from August 2017.Attached property sales in August 2018 totalled 337, a 36.3 per cent decrease compared to the 529 sales in August 2017.

Calgary

Unemployment Rate Slows Housing Market Recovery

Easing sales, gains in new listings and elevated inventory levels continue to slow Calgary’s recovery in the housing market in August. Persistent oversupply in the Calgary housing market continued to weigh on prices in August. Citywide benchmark prices edged down over previous months by 0.8 per cent and are 2.4 per cent below last year’s levels. Citywide sales totaled 1,490 units this month, down nearly seven per cent from last year and 14 per cent below long-term trends. Sales and price declines were not consistent across all districts and product types. Prices have recently trended down across most areas based on year-to-date figures, but have remained comparable to last year’s levels in the City Centre and West districts of the city.

Edmonton

All Residential Unite Sales Increase 1.89% year over year

All residential average unit sales increased 1.89% compared to August 2017. Single family home sales increased both 1.44% month over month and 6.15% year over year. Condominium sales increased 0.5% relative to August 2017. Duplex/rowhouses decreased 10.29% month over month and decreased 14.67% year over year. The average for all residential selling price decreased 2.30% compared to August 2017. Listings increased 1.63% compared to August 2017, inventory also decreased month over month, down 2.62% and increased 7.73% year over year. In total, there were 1,567 MLS® System listed properties sold in August 2018, a decrease of 2.25% month over month and an increase of 1.89% year over year. Average days on market increased for most categories, indicating it continues to be a buyers’ market for the Edmonton CMA.

Toronto

Year over Year Prices on the Rise

Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced sales and price increases on a year-over-year basis in August. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 6,839 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in August 2018 – an 8.5 per cent increase compared to August 2017.August 2018 – an 8.5 per cent increase compared to August 2017. Both the average selling price, at $765,270, and the MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark for August 2018 were up compared to the same month in 2017, by 4.7 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

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View more photos, 3D tour and information available here.