Okanagan real estate sales slowed by low inventory

The demand is still there, but the Okanagan’s real estate market has been slowed by a lack of homes to sell.

Association of Interior Realtors (AIR) president Kim Heizmann said it remains a strong seller’s market.

“The market has slowed down slightly due to a chronic lack of inventory but it’s by no means slow,” said Heizmann, a Vernon realtor, who added that “listings are at record lows and not replenishing to meet the high demand.”

Residential sales for the entire association region (Revelstoke to Manning Park) totalled 1,140, which was on par with July’s 1,143 sales. The year-over-year comparison showed a decrease of 15 per cent from August 2020’s total sales of 1,347. The supply of active residential listings was down 46 per cent across the AIR region compared to the 5,556 active listings of August last year.