Kelowna

The housing market's gradual upswing will continue throughout the fall and into the new year, says Kelowna's Paul Fabri of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“Strong price competition, a good selection of listings and favourable interest rates will help sustain growth in demand for existing homes next year,” says Fabri. “Expect existing home prices to edge back up as demand improves and the supply of listings is drawn down."

Fabri said the biggest improvement will come in the detached home sector, as the existing supply of new homes is sold and new homes will be built. Condo housing starts will be slower, as there is still a large number of new units on the market.

"At the end of September, there were approximately 250 new, built condo units on the market and that doesn't include the units that have yet to be built," says Fabri. "So for the first half of 2010 we won't see a lot of condo construction."

Fabri says new construction will also start in the rental apartment market, as rental prices have come up and land that was originally intended for condominiums may end up for multi-family rental housing instead.