With Canada Day this Friday, we are taking a look at the Real Estate market over Canada.
In lieu of Canada day on Friday, this week we are looking how Kelowna stacks up in the real estate market versus other areas of Canada. It seems that the secret is out, the demand in the Okanagan seems to be at all-time high over the last few years. Whether its people taking the well deserved retirement, or the change to working from home, the Okanagan over this past year has seen roughly 50% of its buyers come from outside of the Central Okanagan. People across the country are searching for alternative places to live; whether it’s a move to be closer to family, change in lifestyle, better weather or the shift to a smaller center which means less people.
In the spirit of Canada Day, this week I am looking at other real estate markets in Canada and comparing to our very own here in the Okanagan.
The Okanagan is not the only real estate market to experience strong demand. However, what might make the Okanagan different and continue to withstand the strong demand is the outside demand (buyers outside the Central Okanagan) that is eating up the inventory that is out there. With shortage of supply, it is really tough to know what the true sale numbers would be.
If you have any specific area you would like to see the statistics on, here is the link to CREA's website where you will have full access.
Looking at the three real estate markets for May of 2022, that have similar populations as the Interior BC, and comparing the overall markets stats with one another, the Kitchener-Waterloo area had an HPI benchmark price of $848,600 which had increased 15.1% over last years numbers, Saskatoon on the other hand was at $375,000 which was up 4.4% over last year. For the interior BC, the average sale price was $733,800 which was up 21.8% over 2021 numbers. When you look at the comparisons with Canada as a whole Canada has seen an increase of 3.4% with the average HPI benchmark prices at $711,316. Buyer habits have changed, employees no longer being tied to the downtown offices, is affecting the big cities who are seeing people move out of the downtown condos to find a home and some yard space. When we look at bigger centers the Greater Vancouver area (GVA) currently has a HPI benchmark price of $1,261,100 which is up 14.7% last year. Heading all the way east to the Greater Toronto area, the HPI benchmark prices are currently pretty much the same as the GVA $1,261,800 but overall had a larger price increase over last year of 23.9%. We have known for some time that Kelowna is a desirable place to live, the demand to live here is high. When looking at overall price growth in this past year the Interior has grown at a rate similar to Toronto. You can play around with the numbers and look at any market to see how the Interior compares, not all markets are the same, supply and demand.
Taking a look at these overall numbers, which is not perfect and limited, as I only have ran the numbers for one month of the year, I do believe they tell a bit of a story that initially confirms the suspicion that the Okanagan continues to grow and there is currently strong demand.
Have a great week and feel free to reach out with any questions! -Mark
Mark Coons
Personal Real Estate Corporation
Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty
2021 Top 3% Internationally Coldwell Banker
Mobile: 250-801-0361
Email: markcoonsrealty@gmail.com
14- 1470 Harvey Avenue
Kelowna, BC