The average home price in Kamloops was just over $411,000, a jump of almost eight per cent from a year earlier.

“Lots of buyers in the market right now. Very tight supply so we are still seeing a lot of pressure on home prices,” Kamloops Real Estate Association president Doren Quinton says.

“There were some sales on some higher-end homes. The bottom end of the market has come up as well, there’s a lot more demand now for townhomes and those have become more expensive over the last year, so that’s moving the average price up.”

The average single-family home dropped in price from $453,000 to $450, but Kamloops Real Estate Association president Doren Quinton no need to worry.

“I wouldn’t be concerned with a one-month figure. That number has gone anywhere from $450,000 to $480,000 in the last three months depending on the mix of homes that sold during the month. So I think that’s a little bit of an anomaly, I think we’ll see that go back up.”

Home sales in Kamloops last month were a mirror image of what they were this time last year.

Quinton says there were 157 sales in January, compared to 158 in January of 2018. That pace is slower than years of record sales in 2016 and 2017, but he says it’s still a good number.

“Our sales numbers are still well above the 10-year average. I don’t think we’ll see the 2016, 2017 levels, we’re probably going to be 10 to 15 per cent below those numbers. But we’re still well above the average. I think the numbers we’re posting now are going to become the benchmark in the future because I think those are going to be pretty stable going forward.”

 

Quinton says realtors expect a similar number of home sales this year as 2018 with prices likely stabilizing.