Central Okanagan Monthly Real Estate Market Summary – August 2023

Wildfires wreaked havoc on the communities of Kelowna and West Kelowna this month. We’ve experienced fires before but the location, size, and ferocious speed at which this particular fire took over our Kelowna neighbourhoods like Wilden was alarming and unexpected. Shockingly, the fires did not slow real estate activity as would be expected. In fact, the real estate market in Kelowna remained relatively steady despite evacuation orders, alerts, and property loss. Keep reading to learn more.

Real Estate Activity in Kelowna Subdued – Wildfires and High-Interest Rates to Blame

The Association of Interior REALTORS® President Chelsea Mann goes over the recent real estate market activity over the last month.

“While sales activity seems muted compared to the unusually high activity over the last few years, when comparing to pre-pandemic years it held up pretty steadily in August,” says the Association of Interior REALTORS® President Chelsea Mann, adding that “the high cost of borrowing and the raging wildfires across the province likely played a part in subduing market activity.”

“This is however a welcomed calming of sorts, as it allows both buyers and sellers to make more informed decisions as opposed to having to expedite their decisions in order to either beat the competition or to outrun rising mortgage rate hikes,” says Mann.

The benchmark price for a single-family home in Central Okanagan was up 5.6% from $1,063,700 to $1,068,600. Central Okanagan townhomes also saw their benchmark price rise ever so slightly by .7% to $786,000 and $525,700 respectively. There were 1,129 single-family homes added to the market resulting in a 3.5% increase in supply during August. Townhomes had 315 units added to the market and condos saw 507 new units added to the real estate supply. The days to sell a home in Central Okanagan continue to rise across all home types.

The calming market is giving buyers and sellers more of a chance to make better decisions regarding their real estate purchases. That means, that if you’re considering listing your home for sale or buying a property in Kelowna, it’s important to discuss it with a knowledgeable real estate team. There are many factors involved in today’s real estate process. Talk to our team today and find out more about how we can help you get ready to buy or sell.

We’re heading into an interesting fall market, so make sure to get in touch with us now so that we can match you with one of our pre-qualified buyers!