Okanagan real estate may be making a comeback.
In a normally slow month, the Interior Association of Realtors said it saw a 5.6 per cent uptick in year-over-year sales.
There was also month-over-month growth, with January seeing 603 residential unit sales across the Okanagan compared to 528 in December.
“Typically, we see less sales activity in the winter than the summer, however, not usually straight out of the gate after the holiday season. It seems spring may be arriving early in terms of real estate activity, along with the warmer temperatures,” association president Chelsea Mann said in a statement released Monday.
New residential listings saw a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent compared to January 2023, coming in almost on par with 1,576 new listings recorded last month.
The total number of active listings saw an increase of 16.5 per cent of total inventory compared to January 2023 with 5,701 recorded across the association’s region.
The highest percentage increase in active listings was seen in the South Okanagan for yet another consecutive month, with a total increase of 33.5 per cent compared to January 2023.
The benchmark price for single-family homes saw slight increases of 2.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent in the Central and North Okanagan regions in year-over-year comparisons, while the South Okanagan and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions saw decreases of 5.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
Benchmark prices in the townhome housing category decreased in the Central and South Okanagan but increased in the North Okanagan and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions compared to January 2023.
In the condominium housing category, all regions — except the South Okanagan — saw decreases in the benchmark price for January 2024 compared to the same month last year.
The average number of days to sell a home, always a good barometer to watch, increased to 94 days
compared to December 2023’s 78 days.