Okanagan’s 2023 real estate market in a ‘better spot’ than last year

Newly released data shows a large increase in property sales in the South Okanagan while prices have dropped for homes in the area.

The Okanagan real estate market is now in a better spot than it was this time last year, according to a new report.

The Association of Interior Realtors (AIR) released statics for June showing a strong uptick in the number of active listings and a small drop in pricing.

“I think our market is actually doing really well,” said AIR vice-president Lyndi Cruikshank.

“I know that there’s certainly a lot of uncertainty right now with the interest rates rising and expected to go up again. But when we look at our overall numbers over last year, I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot.”

The number of active listings in 2022 reached an all-time low, but those numbers have turned around.

According to AIR, the total number of active listings saw an increase of 13.8 per cent of total inventory compared to June last year. The South Okanagan recorded the highest percentage increase in active listings at 32.3 per cent compared to the same month last year.

“If you go back a year ago, one of the greatest struggles we had was this lack of inventory that there was on the market, and it affected people that were actively looking at purchasing in the market, but it also affected people’s ability to have confidence in putting their home on the market,” said Cruikshank.

“There’s definitely less people looking for homes right now and there are more homes on the market so it’s what I would call a more balanced market which is really nice to see.”