While there was a decline in real estate sales in December for the Kamloops region, the price for a townhouse increased compared to last year.
According to the Association of Interior Realtors, the average price of a townhouse in the Kamloops region last month sat at $512,400, which records a 9.4 per cent increase year-over-year.
Kamloops realtor Quinn Pache says it’s due to a change in mindset for buyers amid high-interest rates.
“Kamloops has a plethora of different townhouses and some allow pets and some had a really nice yard and people are looking at that and saying hey, you know what, this is a good cost-effective option for me and my family right now. So let’s lock into this and then wait for the market out and then two years, let’s sell this and get back into the single-family market.”
Due to that, he says the demand for townhouses is going up, noting that with more demand, comes higher prices.
“It makes sense because this is now a more affordable option for buyers in the market because interest rates are higher,” explained Pache. “That $600,000 house is now, that much more expensive for the monthly payments, so that’s really gearing people to look at alternative options.”
Meanwhile, across the region, there were 75 residential unit sales recorded last month, down from the 130 recorded the month prior, and a 54.8 per cent decrease from December 2021.
Pache says the decrease in overall sales for December, is quite normal.
“Every time in December, it is generally slow because people focus on Christmas, they’re focused on the holidays. What we’re starting to see now is we don’t want these numbers to scare people because the market going into January is picking up.”
Additionally, overall inventory/active listings in the Kamloops region, saw a 172.2 per cent increase compared to December 2021, coming in at 1,911.
“When we look at the stats even for single-family homes, that inventory went up last month over 196 per cent compared to last year, so that is a huge boost in inventory,” said Pache.
Due to that high inventory, Pache says it is a great time to buy.
“This is giving buyers options, they have more houses to look at, and they can really choose and decide which house is going to be the best for them,” he explained.
Looking to 2023, the President of the Association of Interior Relators says they anticipate inventory will continue to accumulate. Lyndi Cruickshank said in a statement that all signs point to more balanced conditions with buyers and sellers benefiting equally.
