September was the fourth month in a row house prices in Kamloops plummeted.
In total, the benchmark selling price of $659,400 for a typical single-family home last month is $161,590, or 20%, less than the record-high of $820,990 in May.
Experts say the market may not bottom out until house prices are down 30%.
That means all of the gains made during the pandemic boom of 2021 and the first few months of 2022 will be wiped out.
The reasons for this quick turnaround are well documented -- post-pandemic inflation and higher interest rates to try to dampen it compounded by supply-chain issues caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"With no mortgage interest rate relief anticipated any time soon, some potential homeowners are constrained from being able to enter the real estate market," said Lyndi Cruickshank, president of the 2,500-member Association of Interior Realtors.
In fact, the word 'recession' is being bandied about, meaning things are likely to get worse before they get better.
The benchmark townhouse price in September was $553,100, down from the record-high of $569,396 in June.
And the benchmark price for a condominium last month was $388,400, off from the record-high of $403,323 in June.
In all, sales were down 46% in September compared to boomtime in the same month last year.
That means that last month single-family home sales were only 92 units, townhouses 22 and condos 23.
It's now officially a buyer's market in Kamloops, meaning buyers have the upper hand in any transaction and can take their time shopping around and negotiating lower prices.
How far the pendulum has swung.
Just this past spring it was a seller's market with a buying frenzy meaning multiple offers on homes pushed the price up over asking.
A balanced market is ideal because buyers and sellers are on equal footing and selling inventory and prices are stable.
The Kamloops market is not there and won't go there until prices stop falling and both buyers and sellers feel confident enough to move forward.
