Okanagan real estate market could top $3 billion

Despite a slowdown in the Lower Mainline, the Okanagan’s real estate market is showing no signs of losing steam.

Vancouver home sales plummeted nearly 39 per cent in October compared the same time last year — in large part due to tighter government regulations including a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers.

There’s no such tax in the Okanagan.

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According to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Boad (OMREB) sales were up by nearly 12 per cent last October compared to a year ago. More than 485 homes sold last month in the Central Okanagan.

Year to date sales show nearly 5,990 have been sold, compared to slightly more than 4,710 last year — for a difference of 27 per cent.

The average price for a single detached home in the Central Okanagan is $596,096, up more than 16 per cent from last year when the average price was $510,813.

Another interesting statistic deals with residential sales volume year to date.

According to OMREB, overall sales are on the verge of breaking the $3 billion mark in the Central Okanagan.

So far, sales in the Central Okanagan have reached $2,957,886,379 — up 43 per cent from last year.