Local housing prices continued to decline in July

Housing prices in the North Okanagan saw more declines on an annual basis in July.

The Association of Interior Realtors reported the benchmark price for single family homes in the North Okanagan was $762,000 last month, down 2.4 per cent from July of 2023.

Townhouse prices also fell 7.3 per cent annually to $561,200, while the benchmark prices for apartments and condominiums fell 3.3 per cent to $317,700.

July marked the fifth consecutive month that single family home prices had declined on an annual basis. The North Okanagan has also seen four straight months of benchmark prices declining for apartment and condos, and two months of annual price decreases for townhouses.

The Association noted single family home sales were up last month when compared to July of 2023, though apartment and condo sales were flat and townhouse sales were down on an annual basis.

Data from the organization also showed that the amount of units on the market were up for all housing types in the North Okanagan this July.

The Central Okanagan also saw its benchmark prices for single family homes decline by 4.2 per cent to $1,025,200, while condo and apartment prices dropped 4.5 per cent to $493,800. However, townhouse prices in the region did increase by 1.7 per cent to $779,200.

The Association of Interior Realtors noted there were 1,351 residential unit sales recorded across the Southern Interior in July, which was down by 1.2 per cent from last July’s sales, but also noted that residential listings rose by 4.1 per cent on an annual basis with 2,843 new listings across the region.

“Real estate activity seems to be trending in a positive direction, with new listings slightly above average and sales picking up after a relatively calm summer market start,” Kaytee Sharun, president of the Association of Interior Realtors, said.

“This could likely be a benefit from recent rate cuts, which have made borrowing more affordable and sparked increased activity.”