Rising number of vacant apartments for sale in Kelowna
Global News
In a recent analysis of MLS listings, Andrew Smith of Royal LePage in Kelowna said the region has 264 apartments, from Peachland to Oyama, currently for sale and vacant.
The greater Kelowna, B.C., area has a growing number of vacant apartment units on offer, potentially tipping the market in favour of buyers.
In a recent analysis of MLS listings, Andrew Smith of Royal LePage in Kelowna said the region has 264 apartments, from Peachland to Oyama, currently for sale and vacant. When townhouses are added to the mix there are 391 vacant homes listed and when single detached homes and duplexes get added in, there’s a total of 670 units.
“I’ve never seen this many vacant places for sale and I think it’s primarily provincial government policies,” Smith said.
He attributed the glut of unoccupied apartments for sale to two government policy changes that have recently taken effect.
The first was Airbnb regulations that came into being last March. The rules limit short-term rentals, such as those offered on Airbnb, to within a host’s home, or a basement suite or laneway home on the property where they reside. The rules apply in more than 60 communities across the province.
The second is new legislation that came into effect July 18. Among other things, it requires landlords to provide B.C. renters with a four-month notice period to end the tenancy, a significant increase from the previous two-month requirement. This change is part of a broader effort to safeguard tenants’ rights and ensure a smoother process for everyone involved.
Smith said both together mean that anyone who was once renting out a unit for the sake of making some money is finding ample cause to sell.
“There’s a glut of condominiums on the market, and you would think it would push prices down but it isn’t,” he said.
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