If it seems house prices in the North Okanagan are going through the roof it‘s because they are.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), on average, housing in B.C. is the most expensive in Canada.
In May, 2006 the average price for a B.C. home was $398,800. A year later the average price jumped to $455,000. The cheapest housing in Canada is in Prince Edward Island where a home sells for measly $127,000.
Edmonton had the biggest increase in the nation with a staggering 51 per cent jump in home prices.
Locally the housing market continues to sizzle.
According to their website, the north zone of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board reported total sales dollars of all property types increased in June by 31.56 per cent compared to June 2006.
CREA forecasts a record 500,995 homes will sell this year, with records broken in most provinces. Sales are expected to drop slightly in 2008.
Dave Walker, a partner with the Rabor Group at MacDonald Realty Vernon, said growth in the region is sustained.
Walker said sales and housing prices are climbing, but at a steady pace, rather than the dramatic leaps now being felt in other parts of the country like Alberta.
Even with prices steadily rising there is no shortage of people looking to buy.
“People certainly love the area,” said Walker, adding a lot of people are coming from Alberta.
Properties are also selling quickly, especially townhouses and homes for first-time buyers.
That continued interest in moving to the North Okanagan will keep sales and house prices high.
Peter Lockhart, vice-president of OMREB, said a lot of
product is being built in the North Okanagan, but the demand is there to support the construction boom.
“We will have supply meeting demand,” he said. “I don‘t think it will exceed demand.”
Lockhart said there are currently 3,500 units under
construction in Vernon that will hit the market in the next 18-24 months.
As supply catches up with demand, Lockhart said prices will likely even out, but he doesn‘t expect them to decrease.
Lockhart added it is unusual to have such a prolonged
period of rising prices, but with retiring baby boomers, people with a good cash flow and good interest rates, have combined to keep the market vibrant.
City Coun. Juliette Cunningham sits on the affordable housing committee and she said the need for such housing is
“pretty desperate.”
The committee is working on a strategy to provide affordable house and is meeting with key players in the local housing market such as developers and city officials.
The demand for real estate is also affecting the rental market and Cunningham said there is a rate of less than one per cent vacancy rate in the city. Places for rent are expensive with a one-bedroom unit going for around $650 plus utilities. A two-bedroom unit goes for $900 a month, plus utilities.
A person would have to make at least $28,000 a year to live in the single-bedroom unit.
Cunningham said people with higher incomes can afford to pay more for housing which causes a domino effect, driving up the price of homes.
Cunningham said young families cannot afford to live in the area so many are leaving, but many people are retiring here,
because many of those retirees can afford high-priced homes.
