Since the pandemic started we saw an initial slow down in sales as everyone was locked up. As the economy opened back up in the middle of May the market has been taking off and showing no signs of slowing down.
With July and August seeing a record number of sales, 39%, and 47% respectively increase in sales over the same time last year. The amount of sales does not match the unemployment numbers we have seen. Whether it is a temporary surge or demand will continue time will tell.
This graph shows the number of sales over the past 2 years, April you will see the initial dip when the quarantine was on, and as the economy opened back up the increase in sales steadily shot up on steep curve.
Right now it appears demand is staying in the short term. Supply is the main thing that is slowing down the housing market, I have been in multiple offers twice this past week with 7 offers being presented on both properties. This evening might be a third time as they are presenting offers to the seller at 5:30 tonight and as of last night, the sellers had 2 offers on the property.
Looking at the hottest areas in terms of the number of sales in the last 6 months the main constraint a lot of areas have is the amount of inventory.
Take a look a the hottest areas in terms of the number of sales in the last 6 months. Not considering the number of new listings. Forget the top 5, I want to give it all to you.
LM - Lower Mission 219
WEC - Westbank Centre 200
RN - Rutland North 189
LH - Lakeview Heights 164
KS - Kelowna South 160
SHLK - Shannon Lake 152
GL - Glenmore 144
KN - Kelowna North 144
NG - North Glenmore 129
SFS - Springfield/Spall 109
PE - Peachland 107
WKE - West Kelowna Estates 106
UM - Upper Mission 100
LE - Lake Country East / Oyama 97
RS - Rutland South 91
LCSW - Lake Country South West 88
SE - South East Kelowna 88
LCNW - Lake Country North West 83
BW - Big White 70
BL - Black Mountain 69
FI - Fintry 68
KTVY - Kettle Valley 63
GA - Glenrosa 49
UD - University District 47
DM - Dilworth Mountain 46
MCKY - McKinley Landing 46
WLD - Wilden 43
EL - Ellison 34
WSR - Westside Road 24
CRFD - Crawford Estates 23
Other 45
These numbers can be a bit deceiving as it does not consider the number of homes that were available or that came on the market. When comparing with the number of new listings in the last 6 months the hottest areas change. To correspond the area hottest area I am considering the percentage of new listings that have sold in the last 6 months.
LCSW - Lake Country South West 77%
NG - North Glenmore 74%
SE - South East Kelowna 74%
LE - Lake Country East / Oyama 73%
SHLK - Shannon Lake 73%
EL - Ellison 69%
MCKY - McKinley Landing 69%
SFS - Springfield/Spall 66%
GL - Glenmore 64%
WLD - Wilden 63%
DM - Dilworth Mountain 63%
LCNW - Lake Country North West 63%
WKE - West Kelowna Estates 60%
RN - Rutland North 60%
BW - Big White 59%
UM - Upper Mission 59%
RS - Rutland South 59%
WEC - Westbank Centre 57%
KTVY - Kettle Valley 56%
LH - Lakeview Heights 56%
FI - Fintry55%
FI - Fintry 55% Road 55%
PE - Peachland 54%
GA - Glenrosa 54%
BL - Black Mountain 53%
LM - Lower Mission 50%
KS - Kelowna South 48%
KN - Kelowna North 38%
UD - University District 37%
You can see how numbers sometimes can be deceiving, Lower Mission had the highest amount of sales, however, when corresponding it with the new listings that came on the market over the same period only 50% sold. Lake Country which has been touted as the Okanagans fastest-growing community, all in all, is one of the hottest areas.
Have a great week and reach out if you have any questions.
-Mark