MLS Listings, News & Statistics
The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association has released it’s latest statistics for August 2013. Click on the image to enlarge.
Kamloops Real Estate Comparative analysis by property type August 2013
Kamloops Real Estate MLS Activity August 2013
Kamloops Real Estate Sales by Subarea August 2013
Vancouver, BC – August 22, 2013. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2013 Third Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.
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BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to increase 3.9 per cent to 70,300 units this year, before increasing a further 6.1 per cent to 74,600 units in 2014. The five-year average is 74,600 unit sales, while the ten-year average is 86,800 unit sales. A record 106,300 MLS® residential sales were recorded in 2005.
“After a marked pull back of consumer demand in 2012, the housing market is now transitioning to more elevated home buying activity,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “However, the effect of sluggish employment growth this year is expected to spill over into 2014, limiting housing demand to a 6 per cent increase, with total home sales matching the 5 year average.”
“The average MLS® residential price in the province has been revised from remaining unchanged to increasing 3.3 per cent to $531,700 this year. A stronger than expected decline in the inventory of homes for sale has created balanced market conditions in the Lower Mainland, causing home prices to align more closely with overall consumer price inflation,” added Muir. The average MLS® residential price in BC is forecast to increase 2.2 per cent to 543,400 in 2014.
The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association has released it’s latest statistics for July 2013. Click on the image to enlarge.
Kamloops Real Estate Comparative analysis by property type July 2013
Kamloops Real Estate MLS Activity July 2013
Kamloops Real Estate Sales by subarea July 2013
This article appeared in the Kamloops Daily News on August 15th, 2013.
Kamloops is like the tortoise in the fabled race against the hare.
Slow but steady, the city has been growing with a relatively stable economy and moderate increases in population, unlike some communities that have experienced the rushing boom and then sluggish bust of others.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. market analyst Paul Fabri said Thursday housing starts for the first half of 2013 in Kamloops have been close to those of the previous year.
In 2012, 317 homes were started between January and the end of July, while this year, that number is at 330.
“Kamloops overall has fared better in terms of new construction than some communities with resort housing or second homes,” such as parts of the Okanagan, he said.
Kamloops has also had stronger employment growth than some other centres, Fabri added.
He suggested single-family home construction hasn’t been as strong as multi-family because the market is competitive these days. He described the Kamloops economy as relatively stable, which has kept housing construction on an even keel.
“Overall, housing starts will reach my forecast for this year, which was 500 housing starts. That’s just slightly more than last year,” he said.
For 2014, Fabri predicts housing starts in Kamloops will reach 525 units.
On the other hand, Kelowna’s housing starts have dipped in the last few years, after taking a big drop during the 2008/2009 recession years. That’s because of a reduced demand for resort housing during that period, Fabri said.
“Kelowna hasn’t seen as robust employment growth as Kamloops has. That factor has helped maintain stable housing activity,” he said.
“On the resale side, prices have been pretty stable in Kamloops for the last year or two,” he said.