The median house price in Kamloops hit another record last month, reaching $515,000 for the first time ever.

The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association says that price is up six per cent from $487,000 in October 2018.

The average selling price of a house in Kamloops in October this year was $418,465, a 2.8 per cent increase of October 2018. Single family home prices averaged $494,283 in October compared to $488,281 last year.

In all, there were 273 homes that changed hands last month, compared to 232 last year, a year-over-year increase of 17.7 per cent. As with previous months, a majority of the home sales (61) were in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, followed by 48 sales between $300,000 and $400,000 price range, and 40 sales between $500,000 and $600,000.

“The $400,000 to $500,000 has been the top sales category for the last four or five months, followed by the $300,000 to $400,000,” said KADREA Past President Doren Quinton. “But we are starting to see quite a few more sales in the $600,000 to $1-million range, and a couple even over $1 million. That’s contributing to bringing up the median residential price as well.”

Quinton says Kamloops has been tight on housing inventory for the last couple of years, which is causing a little bit of an uptick in home prices.

“Continuing strong demand with lower than average supply continues to keep the Kamloops real estate market tight for buyers trying to get into the market.,” added Quinton. “While average and median prices can vary month-to-month depending on the sales mix, median home prices above $500,000 have become more of a reality in Kamloops.”

Brocklehurst had the highest number of sales in October with 26 followed by Westsyde at 24 sales and Aberdeen with 21 sales.