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The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reported that there were 10,247 residential unit sales through MLS in July, up 20.7 per cent from July 2014. The average MLS residential price in British Columbia rose to $608,294 representing an 11% increase since last July. Click here for the original BCREA news release.
BCREA economist Cameron Muir cited “tighter market conditions” as the reason home prices are being driven up. The Fraser Valley experienced a 13.5% increase in prices representing the largest in the province.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported a 9% increase in prices last month to $437,700. These prices include Toronto and Vancouver of course, but eliminating those two markets the average price for a home in our country would be a more affordable $341,000.
Who cares, we live in Kelowna. Not so fast. Banks and governments tend to react to changes in market conditions regardless if they’re on the upswing or falling off a cliff. A housing market like this, growing at such a robust rate, usually leads to tighter lending requirements across the board in an attempt to bring stability to the housing sector which impacts buyers here.
In our market July saw 319 residential sales at an average price of $550,000. A year ago there were 301 solds reported at an average price of $565,000. Nothing has really changed here with July always being a busy month for us so a $15,000 monthly slip in prices isn’t anything to get excited about. We’re still an expensive place to live and this is a destination of choice for those who have the means.
Nothing too see here folks, move along...
There were 123 apartment sales in July at an average sale price of $256,000 in July. July 2014 recorded 112 sales (up slightly this year) at an average price of $272,000 (down a bit). Overall, year-to-date, apartment sales are up in both categories with 668 units being traded this year at an average price of $259,000. This compares favorably, albeit slightly, to 2014 where there were 589 sales at this point with an average price of $247,000.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
