Kelowna
Due to the record temperatures which was experienced in Kelowna many feared that we can be in a difficult situation of fire season. Unfortunately, it turns into reality as there were two big fires, one in the North of Okanagan and the other in the Peachland areas also known as the Glenrosa area. There were also very small fires which due to enormous efforts of firefighters quickly brought under control. These fires not only filled the area with dense smoke but also deteriorate the number of Covid patients. This led the provincial and local governments to ask people to stay away. It left many adverse effects on the environment and the different markets alongside the real estate market. The activity of the real estate market of this month is given below
- The inventory is very low which in turn affects the stabilizing of prices. As the prices are not getting stable so there will be many offer situations.
- The first tower of one water street is now complete. The owners started to take possessions so there might be new re-sales here.
- In the new developments, the first phases of water street and aqua street by the park have recently entered the market. The eager buyers quickly snapped both developments.
- As there are still forest fires burning the area, so it is very essential for the buyers to buy early and make a deal with the insurance companies thirty days before they are due to close.
- Now there is the fourth wave of the COVID-19 virus and till now there is no end of this in the sight. So, there are still high levels of demand is seen in the valley.
- Due to the election campaign, there are some changes in the policies so it is expected that it will also impact the real estate market.
The sales numbers of Kelowna Residential Real Estate continued their trend downward. If we compare it with last month then in August 2021, total sales were down by 7.9%, single-family homes sales are stable, and strata sales are down by 13.2%
The average price of a home in Kelowna five years ago was $650,000. The household income required to buy a home with this price was $98,000. Today, the average price of a home is $830,000. An increase of 27 percent occurs in the last five years.
But, due to the latest stress-test rules of the federal government, if you want to buy a house now you must qualify for the higher interest rates. The household income that is required to buy a house now has also increased to $143,000. This is an increase of 43 percent. According to Canadian statistics, the average increase in household income has increased just six percent.
According to Heizmann a realtor with Century 21 Executive Realty there is a lack of supply and buyers are struggling to find homes this puts pressure on pricing. The decrease in supply is due to the pandemic and a long time is required to get over it.
