HOME SALES INCREASED IN FEBRUARY!! ….This is great news for our markets here in Kelowna and around BC. The low interest rates and awesome deals out there have spurred on a lot of fresh activity in the real estate market and an increase in sales!
The February’09 Stats for the Central Okanagan have been released from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB). Here’s what they show (February ‘’09)…………..
LISTINGS – We had 4,848 active listings in the Central Okanagan, still up from last year. (+40.28% over last February ’08).
SALES – February ’09 saw a total of 162 sales during the month, including 86 single family homes, 29 condos and 18 townhomes. This was up from January ’09 which only saw 114 sales. But was still down -61% vs last February ’08.
AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES – February ’09 average price for SF house was only $447,819 vs. $496,621 Feb. ’08. This is a month to month decrease of almost -9.83% from last year. And a YTD (year to date) average price decrease of -11.66% SF and -13.04% average price decrease YTD of all categories.
HERE’S THE PROVINCIAL STATS FROM THE BCREA….
Home Sales Increase in February
Vancouver, BC – March 13, 2009. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 53 per cent to $1.54 billion in February, compared to the same month last year. Residential unit sales fell 47 per cent to 3,653 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $421,023 in February, down 12 per cent from February 2008.
“After a weak start to the year, BC MLS® residential sales increased 17 per cent in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. MLS® residential sales in the province climbed from a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate of 40,200 units in January to 47,000 units in February.
“It’s not surprising that home sales rebounded from January’s low level,” noted Muir. “Reduced home prices and mortgage interest rates have markedly increased affordability. The carrying cost of an average home in BC is approaching a three-year low."
Year-to-date, MLS® residential sales declined 51 per cent to 5,768 units compared to the first two months of 2008. The average MLS® residential declined 11 per cent to $418,057, while MLS® residential dollar volume was down 56 per cent to $2.4 billion over the same period.
For more market statistics and graphs go to www.OMREB.com or go to www.BriggsOnHomes.com