July Sales Improved – Strong August Next?

By Michael Kinghorn

July sales improved for Priscilla and Company, bucking the trend we are seeing in the North Okanagan. We were a part of one sale over $2MM and two more over $1MM, while also getting two more sales over $900K.

That is in contrast to the overall market in the North Okanagan which is seeing a decline in both number of sales and sales volume both month over month and year over year. The number of homes sold in the residential market in the North Okanagan is down 15% over the same period last month, and down similarly in the sales volume metric.

There is good news for both buyers and sellers though. For sellers, the average sale price on residential properties has gone up 8% year over year to almost $513,000 while days on market has stayed average at 60. For buyers, the benefit is the number of homes on the market as inventory has continued to improve, up 10% to 183 listings which helped July sales improve.

Who Are The Buyers?

So where are the buyers coming from? Well, the reality is that, foreign buyers make up on average 3% of the buying group. Those from other provinces are less than 15%. Of that, Albertans are around 10%. The largest buyer group, at 50 – 60% are those who already live here. The lower Mainland/Vancouver Island buyer comprises the second largest group at about 20%.

With all of that information, we are still high on our expectations for August. Firstly, acquiring a mortgage for self-employed individuals is about to get easier thanks to CMHC that will implement changes in October to ease the burden for showing income as a self-employed individual. That along with a strong economy will continue to stabilize the market.

The other factor that led to July sales improving is the recent surge in Baby Boomers choosing to use Recreational and Residential Waterfront property as their primary residences. Retirees are driving 91% of the market, compared to last year when they were driving only 55%, according to the report. And they remain eager buyers with 33% saying that they own or want to own a recreational property for investment purposes.

North Okanagan Residential Real Estate Statistics (Vernon, Coldstream, Silver Star, Armstrong, Lumby & Enderby)

July 2018 Real Estate Update – July 2018 vs July 2017*

• Overall unit sales down 13.8% to 218 units.
• Single Family Residential home sales down 15% to 199 units.
• Active listings up 9.7% to 1,610 units.
• Days to sell down 4.2% to 65 days.
• Average sale price down 0.8% to $446,039.

Shuswap Residential Real Estate Market Statistics (Salmon Arm & Sicamous)

July 2018 Real Estate Update – Stats for July 2018 vs July 2017*

• Overall unit sales down 11.5% to 139 units.
• Single Family Residential home sales down 5.5% to 69 units.
• Active listings up 10.4% to 1,253 units.
• Days to sell down 19.3% to 89 days.
• Average sale price up 15.3% to $425,757.

For more information visit the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board at www.omreb.com.

*Source: Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board Statistics
North Okanagan: North Okanagan Monthly Statistics, July, 2018
Shuswap: Shuswap / Revelstoke Monthly Statistics, July, 2018