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There was good news and bad news from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) regarding sales in the Okanagan in its September report with single family units taking the hardest hit.
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.
On the other hand, year-to-date, total residential sales throughout the Board area improved over last year with the Central Okanagan and North Okanagan leading the way at 10 per cent and 9 per cent, followed by 5 per cent in the Shuswap.
OMREB also reported September 2012 sales activity of all MLS property types declined over the same month last year but improved compared to the first nine months of 2011 as the market slows moving into fall.
In the Central Zone, from Peachland to Lake Country overall sales dropped 13.5 per cent during September -- to 275 units valued at $110.6 million compared to 318 at $127.9 million in 2011.
Total residential sales for the month were down 18.7 per cent compared to 2011 -- to 244 at $94.2 million from 300 at $122.7 million.
Single family home sales dropped 25.2 per cent compared to last September (to 116 units from 155).
Year-to-date (YTD) sales from January through September totalled 3,146 units valued at $1.2 billion, a 9.6 per cent improvement over 2,871 at $1.1 billion last year.
Townhouses and apartments showed the most improvement YTD, rising 11.3 per cent and 11.8 per cent over 2011.
New listings taken were down 14.2 per cent at 712 compared to 830 in September 2011, and inventory for the month dipped 2.9 per cent to 4,843 units compared to 4,986 last year.
"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."
