Category: Kamloops Real Estate News

CFJC News Kamloops posted this article and news story on October 1st, 2015. The story is by Tanya Cronin.

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September was a strong month for the local real estate market in Kamloops, with sales up 34-percent. A total of 248 residential properties changed hands last month – up from 183 in September of 2014. The local market is the most balanced it’s been in years – and with mortgage rates at a low, the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association President says, it’s great news for both buyers and sellers. Right now, the average sale price in the City is 386-thousand dollars.

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As a team we have found that it has been very busy both with Buyers and Sellers. We sold 24 homes in September alone so it definitely was a busy month. With lower mortgage interest rates Buyers are excited and eager since they have lower financing costs. Homes under the $500,000 mark seem to sell well in Kamloops however homes over that price point are a bit challenging. The sales are also stronger in some areas of Kamloops more than others. It isn’t consistent across the board. The more expensive real estate in Kamloops takes time to sell and needs effective marketing to stand above the competition.

This article appeared in the Infotel (Kamloops InfoNews.ca) on June 2nd, 2015 and was written by Dana Reynolds.

KAMLOOPS – With more houses being built and home-buyers spending more the Kamloops housing market is off to a very good start in 2015.

According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation single-unit housing starts in Kamloops ‘surged’ in the first three months of 2015. The report from the corporation shows every category of housing start grew during the first quarter, with the exception of rental apartments. The first quarter of 2015 saw just one rental unit built, compared to 88 in 2014.

The corporation notes there is a provincial trend towards multi-family dwellings and the trend is seen in Kamloops as well, where the number of starts on semi-detached homes tripled. Single-family homes almost doubled as well though, growing to 33 in the first quarter of 2015 from 19 during the same period in 2014.

The number of completions during the first quarter were up 76 per cent as well, with 92 more homes finished in quarter one of 2015 than in 2014.

The price of newly built homes during this time period averaged about $490,000, a more than $40,000 increase from the first quarter housing prices in 2014. Of the 69 single family homes sold in the first quarter of 2015, 68 per cent came in under $500,000. There have also been more people who have purchased houses in the $500,000 and up range so far this year, with 22 homes falling within that price range in the first quarter of 2015, compared to just 13 during the same time period last year.

This article appeared in the Kamloops This Week on April 15th, 2015 and was written by Andrea Klassen.

Residential developers in downtown Kamloops will soon get a break on their taxes even if they don’t include rental units in their projects.

Kamloops city council has agreed to expand its downtown tax exemptions to include a 10-year, 100 per cent break on municipal taxes for projects that include new residential units.

A staff estimate puts the tax savings at $349,969 over the term for a new building with 15 units, and $745,848 for a development with 53 units.

Previously, the city had offered a tax break for residential projects in which at least 50 per cent of the units built are for rent, but planning and development manager Randy Lambright said no one has taken the city up on the offer since that incentive was created.

The city also gives tax breaks on both the North Shore and downtown for redeveloping brownfield sites, including former gas stations.

Several councillors wanted to see the downtown exemptions broadened further, to allow for other projects, such as converting unused office space into residential units.

Coun. Marg Spina is a fan of that idea, which she said could add more affordable housing to the downtown.

“My caution would be that I want to see the affordability factor there so we’re not just making tax exemptions for high-end residential buildings,” she said.

Coun. Tina Lange sees the move away from rentals as positive for developing the city’s core, arguing homeowners are more likely to stay in the area and become part of the downtown community.

“In order to build downtown, which is the most expensive per-square-foot land in the city, affordable housing isn’t going to be an option,” she said.

“If we want developers to build something they can sell, affordable housing isn’t going to cut it.”

Coun. Arjun Singh floated a proposal to allow tax breaks for second-floor conversions, using another portion of the downtown tax bylaw which gives a break on improvements worth $100,000 or 30 per cent of a property’s assessed value if they also include improvements to the building’s appearance.

Singh suggested the city could waive appearance requirements in cases when residential conversion is taking place, but wasn’t able to convince a majority of council to take up his idea.

“Frankly, I’m not looking to convert office space into apartments in downtown Kamloops,” Mayor Peter Milobar said.

“I think we have that office space and we need to fill it up because that provides employment for people to want to live in downtown Kamloops.”

Only Coun. Donovan Cavers opposed the new tax-break structure, saying the new exemptions are too broad and don’t allow council to pinpoint specific kinds of development it wants to encourage downtown.