The year to date home sales across Canada are down quite significantly this year.

In the Kamloops-Thompson, that’s no different, although the decline is a lot less than in places like Vancouver and Toronto.

Cameron Muir, the Chief Economist with the Canadian Real Estate Association says the year to date sales in Kamloops are down about 10 per cent.

“That’s likely due to a couple of factors – one is relative affordability in Kamloops, so the price level hadn’t gotten as high as it did in the Lower Mainland,” he said. “The economy has been doing quite well for the last four years.”

“I think there’s going to be some increased activity in the North particularly around LNG, and that’s going to help Kamloops being that kind of midway point between Vancouver and the north.”

He says the decline does have an impact on the economy, but not as much as people might think.

“Of course, real estate commissions, appraisal fees, building inspections and all those kinds of things that go on,” he added. “I think most importantly if we look at the home building sector, the number of units construction in many areas of Kamloops is off the charts high.”

“That’s certainly a signal that homebuilding activity – certainly housing starts – will likely pull back in the next several quarters.

The CREA expects home sales in Canada to fall to their lowest level in five years.