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Kelowna  

Demand up, inventory not

If demand keeps increasing and inventory continues to stall, expect bidding wars to erupt over Okanagan real estate.

There were 520 homes sold between Revelstoke and Peachland in February, an increase from 353 in January. But that's nine per cent less than this time last year, according to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board.

President Anthony Bastiaanssen says it’s normal for market activity to pick up in February, but “ongoing issues” with housing inventory are driving up prices in the Okanagan.

“While the inventory of available properties for sale increased over January, we are still 30 per cent lower than a year ago,” he says.

If demand continues to grow, major competition for available properties will increase, with multiple offers common and properties selling for higher than asking price.

In February, OMREB says the average price of a home in the region was about $480,000. That’s nine per cent higher than it was in January, and 13 per cent higher than last February.

Fifty-five per cent of buyers come from within the region, 21 per cent from the Lower Mainland and 12 per cent from Alberta.

"Foreign buyers continue to be a small percentage of the buying population at just two per cent,” Bastiaanssen says.



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