Photo: Royal LePage
Royal LePage believes Kelowna’s home inventory will continue to increase for the rest of the year, keeping prices in check.
The real estate company released its quarterly house price update and market forecast earlier this week, and its experts believe buyers will continue to sit on the sidelines until borrowing costs come down.
“The Kelowna housing market has been soft as of late, with buying and selling activity down these past few months compared to the same time period in 2023,” Royal LePage Kelowna broker and owner Francis Braam said in a press release. “Agents are busy hosting showings and engaging with clients, but few buyers are decisively putting pen to paper. There is little sense of urgency for consumers to transact at the moment.”
“Despite the lack of demand we are seeing, home prices have stayed stable thanks to the shortage of inventory we continue to see. Supply has grown on a year over year basis, but remains below long-term trends in the region.”
Braam believes more sellers will list their homes in the coming months, which will keep prices from increasing. He believes it will take some time, however, for buyers to take advantage of more choices.
“If interest rates continue on their downward trajectory, I expect that this will boost consumer confidence in the market and the economy but will not translate into a meaningful rise in home sales until borrowing costs have decreased substantially,” Braam said.
According to Royal LePage’s numbers, the aggregate home prices increased 3.1% from last quarter but was down 1.5% from last year. The aggregate home price is calculated using a weighted average of the median values of all housing type transactions collected in the region.
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