The Market

A surge in sales and dollar volume in May, after months of being in the doldrums, seems to have been an anomaly  While May was by far the strongest market we've experienced in the South Okanagan in 13 months, June year-over-year stats slumped. In fact, there's a marked difference between May's high dollar and unit volumes, compared to June's

Typical for the summer, new listings have dropped since June.

A sustained growth usually starts with first-time buyers, even if they're not buying in our area. 

The housing market is like dominoes - a first-time buyer purchasing a condo allows the condo owner to move up to a townhouse. Both still need mortgages. And on and on up the chain it goes, eventually to the seller who no longer needs a mortgage to purchase. This is the type of buyer we often see in the Okanagan - many of them are now waiting for their homes to sell in order to buy, whether they already live here and plan to downsize, or whether they're coming here from other areas..

So the next several months are setting up to be a consequential indicator of what the future may be for sellers and buyers. Seemingly at a snail's pace the federal government and provinces are moving toward strengthening intra-provincial trade and solidifying trade connections with other countries while preparing to renegotiate the Canada/U.S./Mexico trade agreement.

In the South Okanagan it seemed every 10 years the housing market hit a peak then would start to gradually slide. It happened in 1988/89, then nine years later in 1997/98, again in 2007/08 and yet again in 2017/18. It was like clockwork.

As happened throughout the world, people flooded out of large cities to smaller communities, upending predictable market cycles and accelerating market values. Subsequent high interest rates cooled that surge but, as rates come back down, the market in the South Okanagan has been responding. 

Now that the threat of the United States imposing tariffs is coming to fruition, and job security becomes front and center for many Canadians, the anticipation is market activity will slow or even pause. A further drop in interest rates may offset that but only time will tell. 

Buying? Take advantage of a luxury of choice. 

Selling? Acknowledge that the market has shifted and be competitive about your pricing. Or wait for a better market.