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By Liam Verster

Housing Market Forecast

Real estate forecast predicts Okanagan housing sales to dip this year, pick up in 2025

Nov 6, 2024 | 1:18 PM

The Okanagan’s housing market is predicted to fluctuate a bit in the next year.

The B.C. Real Estate Association’s (BCREA) Housing Forecast shows the Okanagan is on track to have 7,500 sales in 2024. Those include 4,000 single home, 1,600 apartment and 1,300 townhouse sales.

The Housing Forecast Report noted the predicted sales in 2024 would be down 5.8 per cent from the 7,957 sales recorded in the region in 2023.

However, the market is expected to pick up in 2025 with a total of 8,000 sales forecasted for the year.

“The impact of a slowing regional economy has mainly fallen on Okanagan market activity,” the report stated.

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“However, we expect pent-up demand to be unleashed in the new year as the economy recovers and the Bank of Canada continues to lower its policy rate. Consequently, home sales are projected to rise 6.7 per cent in the Okanagan for 2025.”

The average Multiple Listing Service (MLS) price for homes in the Okanagan in 2024 were forecasted at $744,000, down 0.7 per cent from the previous year, though that was forecasted to increase to $755,200 in 2025.

Meanwhile, the BCREA data for the entire province forecasts that 75,000 homes would be sold in all of 2024, marking an increase of 2.6 per cent from the 73,087 sales in 2023.

That growth is projected to be even larger in 2025, with a forecast of 84,500 home sales in 2025.

The MLS price in B.C. this year was forecasted at $981,400, up 1.1 per cent annually, though that figure was expected to increase to $1,013,600 in 2025.

“Following two pretty challenging years for sales, it looks like markets across B.C. are starting to build momentum,” BCREA’s Chief Economist, Brendon Ogmundson, said.

“In addition to lower mortgage rates, new policy changes allowing longer amortization for first-time homebuyers and increased mortgage insurance caps will provide a boost to market activity.”