North Okanagan

There was good news and bad news from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) regarding sales in the Okanagan in its September report, however the North Okanagan Zone showed some promising numbers.

Overall unit sales in both the Central Okanagan and Shuswap were down 14 per cent and 22 percent respectively from September 2011 with single family residential the hardest hit, dropping 33 per cent and 25 per cent, while sales in the North Okanagan were up 2 per cent per cent over last year with single family residential rising 28.6 per cent.

In the North Okanagan, which includes the area from Predator Ridge to Enderby, overall sales were up marginally (1.6 per cent) but sales volumes dipped 2.2 per cent compared to 2011 -- to 125 units valued at $39.9 million from 123 at $40.8 million.

Total residential sales for September improved 4.6 per cent over last year (113 valued at $37.6 million versus 108 at $33.8 million).

Single family homes rose 28.6 per cent over 2011 (63 units compared to 49), and townhouse sales were up 46.2 per cent (to 19 from 13).

Year-to-date unit sales for 2012 were up 9.2 per cent compared to activity during the same period last year (to 1,155 valued at $388.4 million from 1,058 at $370.4 million).

Single family residential sales showed the greatest improvement YTD – up 21.5 per cent to 610 units compared to 502 during the first nine months of 2011.

Inventory for September was down slightly from last year (-2.8 per cent) at 2,501 compared to 2,574, while the 288 new listings taken for the month dropped by 6.5 per cent from 308 in 2011.      

"While the Okanagan-Shuswap market saw steady improvement for five consecutive months (April through August), overall sales were down 11 per cent board-wide compared to last September," says OMREB President Rob Shaw.

"With the diversity in the OMREB Board area, there are monthly up and down fluctuations in each zone, depending on the community, housing type and price point."