BC Interior housing market shows signs of life to buck trend of slower October

No normal fall for market

Photo: The Canadian Press

The Interior real estate market was busier in October than it usually is.

The B.C. Interior’s real estate market was relatively flat in October, which is not normally the case.

Usually the market starts to cool along with the weather each fall, but there were actually more sales across the Association of Interior Realtors region last month than there were in September.

It was a slight increase to 1,274 sales in October, but it was an increase nonetheless.

“Market activity for the month was steady, which is a positive sign for this time of year,” AIR president Kadin Rainville said in a press release. “Typically, we see a cooling in the market as the weather cools, but October held flat instead of dipping, which in real estate terms is a good thing. This is an encouraging indicator of buyer and seller confidence in the local real estate market.

“Current trends indicate that the market continues to perform within the bounds of a typical year to-date pattern in activity. It will be interesting to see if this consistency carries through to deliver a strong hand-off into the new year.”

Here is the breakdown by region:

Central Okanagan

Benchmark prices were down from September in both the townhome and condominium categories, but the single-family mark jumped more than $22,000 to $1.04 million. The townhome mark dropped below $700,000 for the first time since January 2022, while the condominium benchmark fell for the fourth straight month.

The single-family and condominium benchmarks are up over last October, while the townhome price is down about $20,000.

North Okanagan

It was the same story in this region, with townhome and condominium marks down from September, and the single-family price up to $773,400. As is the case in Central Okanagan, the condo price has fallen for four consecutive months.

The single-family and condominium benchmarks are up over last October, while the townhome price is down about $14,000.

South Okanagan

In contrast to both of their neighbours to the north, this region’s condo price increased from September to October, stopping a three-month slide. The single-family price was down slightly to $754,700, while the townhome price dropped approximately $9,000.

The benchmark prices in all three categories are down from last October, but not by much. In addition, there were 18 more sales in October than there were in September, which was the opposite situation in the Central and North Okanagan.

Kamloops & District

The single-family and townhome benchmarks were both up from September, while the condo price dropped for the sixth occasion in the last seven months. The October prices in all three categories were similar to those in October 2024, but only the single-family mark was up from last year.

There were 385 new listings last month, which was a significant increase over the 340 from a year ago at this time.

“While sales in the Kamloops and District region eased in line with seasonal expectations, it’s encouraging to see an increase in new listings,” Rainville said. “This is a market that often faces challenges building inventory, so having more options available is a welcome change for buyers.”

Kootenays

Business was booming in the Kootenays, which stretches from Nakusp in the west to the Alberta border in the east. Sales jumped substantially from September, from 233 to 300, and the benchmark prices were up in both the single-family and townhome categories. New listings were also up over October 2024 but down from September.

“The Kootenay real estate market performed exceptionally well in October, coming in above September’s activity and above the 10-year average,” Rainville said. “Typically, we see flatter conditions this time of year, but the region bucked that trend, showing steady and stable movement that outpaced many markets across the province.”