The real estate boom drove the median price of a Kelowna single-family home to hit slightly more than $1 million this summer and additional growth is expected in the months to come, according to the Royal LePage Housing Price Survey and Market Forecast.
From July through September, the report indicates the median price of a single-family home in Kelowna was $1,025,000. A year earlier, it was $838,000 amounting to a rise of 22.3 per cent year over year.
On the same track, the median price for a condo in Kelowna from July to September of 2020 was $362,000 and a year later it was $452,000, which is a rise of 24 per cent.
The rise in Okanagan home prices isn’t dissimilar to what’s happening nationally.
Across the country, Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper said the national median price of a single-family detached home rose 25.2 per cent year over year to $790,000, while the median price of a condominium increased 13.0 per cent year over year to $533,600. Price data, which includes both resale and new build, is provided by Royal LePage’s sister company RPS Real Property Solutions.
In all 11 B.C. communities the report looked at, the median price of a single-family home is now over $1 million, and the most growth was seen in Langley, Abbotsford and Greater Victoria. They all posted increases to the median home price of around 34 per cent, while West Vancouver saw the least growth. That city posted an increase year over year of 5.9 per cent. Of course, that is the most expensive city in B.C. to buy a single-family home, and the median cost is $2,695,000.
The survey looks beyond B.C., and there’s a lot of contrast to be found. For example, the median price of a single-family home in Ottawa is $856,000, in the Calgary area it’s $643,000, Saskatoon is $413,000, Winnipeg is $390,000, and St. John, N.B., is $257,000.
While the year in its entirety showed a significant uptick in prices, there was some moderation from quarter to quarter.
“During the third quarter, the torrid pace of home price appreciation moderated as both demand and inventory wanted, a typical summer market trend in a very atypical year,” Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper said in a release. Of all Kelowna’s price growth, for example, the median price rose by 3.8 per cent in the last quarter.
Stober said detached houses in suburban and smaller city communities continue to be the primary driver of Canada’s aggregate house price growth. Based on market trends, Royal LePage expects the median price of a single-family home in Canada to grow a further 16 per cent between October and December.
“We are seeing prices levelling in many of these regions and expect future growth to track closer to historical norms,” Soper said. “While the price gap between houses and condominiums widened during the pandemic, that, too, should reverse itself in the months ahead, as buyers see condo units as good value for money. In addition, the revitalization of our cities, as employees return to offices and the businesses that serve them reopen, is driving renewed interest from investors eager to provide much-needed rental accommodation.”
A median price is not an average price. It is the midpoint valuation of all the homes sold.