Image: Getty Images
The average price of a Kelowna home continued to rise in the second quarter of 2018, checking in at $623,706.
That figure was part of the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released on Tuesday morning.
The average price of a two-storey home in Kelowna reached $701,576, which represented a 3.9 per cent increase from a year ago, while the condominium average jumped 3.7 per cent to $386,927. Bungalows experienced the biggest year-over-year jump, an 8.3 per cent increase to an average sticker price of $641,886.
Even though Kelowna and the Okanagan as a whole are experiencing fewer sales this year thanks to new cooling measures, Royal LePage officials said millennials and Vancouver residents are still flocking to Kelowna due to the city’s “strong economy” and “affordable home prices.”
“While the speculation tax and new OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) stress test have hurt many consumers’ purchasing power, fundamentals remain strong in Kelowna’s real estate market,” Royal LePage Kelowna managing broker and owner Francis Braam said.
“Though it is true that sales in the region are down by almost 20 per cent on an annual basis, they are based off of record years. The market continues to thrive, attracting many prospective homeowners into the region with the promise of significant value.”
Several Canadian cities experienced price declines in the second quarter, mainly thanks to the newly implemented stress test. Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper expects that to reverse course in the third quarter, and prices should increase across most of the country.
“The fundamentals have not changed,” Soper said. “The economy is strong, and unemployment is very low. We face shortages in our major cities, with many more people looking for homes than the market has available for purchase or rent. Upward pressure on prices will likely return to most markets this quarter.”
All Biz Releases Stories
