Home prices in the North Okanagan are basically the same as a year ago.
According to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, the average residential price in May was $518,299, up 0.92 per cent from May 2018.
Sales activity was down 14 per cent, with just over 203 units sold in the area last month.
Homes are taking an average of 69 days to sell.
The board says residential sales across the region of Revelstoke to Peachland totaled 780 in May, up from April’s 707 sales, but five per cent lower than this time last year.
“The local market continues to attract buyers, even though consumers may not have the purchasing power they did prior to January of 2018,” OMREB President Michael Loewen said.
Loewen said with the chronic shortage of housing supply that has plagued the region for years, buyers are having to wait for inventory to catch up to the demand for affordable housing, particularly first-time home buyers and millennials.
“Buyers are being left on the sidelines or having to revisit their financial options to adjust for more stringent stress test requirements,” he said.
May’s average house price in the region was $541,611 — two per cent higher than April, but two per cent lower than May 2018.
“A closer look shows single-family and townhouse pricing tracking slightly under last year with condominium pricing showing an increase of sevent per cent over this time last year,” Loewen said.
