Kamloops' housing market is stagnant

Sluggish, slack, listless, inactive, quiet, slow or lethargic.

Use whatever word you like to describe Kamloops' lacklustre housing market.

Just released statistics from the Association of Interior Realtors shows that 144 homes of all kinds (single-family, townhouse and condominium) sold in Kamloops and district in September.

That's down from the 160 sales in August.

So, that's actually a drop rather than a true stagnation.

We can also say the benchmark selling prices of homes in Kamloops have flatlined.

But, the reality is they've dipped a bit, too.

In September, the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kamloops was $662,400, a slight slide from the $664,300 it was in August.

Last month, the benchmark for a typical townhouse was $525,300, off from $528,800 in August.

For a typical condo, last month's benchmark was $367,700, a $9,200 drop from August's $376,900.

Sales are way down from post-COVID 2021 and 2022 when people went on a buying frenzy to get what they wanted where they wanted and forcing prices up to record levels.

For single-family that was $820,990, for a townhouse $569,400 and a condo $403,323 -- all in the spring of 2022.

"While active listings are trending upwards, September marked a seemingly sluggish month for sales activity despite anticipation of recent (mortgage interest) rate cuts potentially providing some relief to rate-sensitive buyers," said Kaytee Sharun, president of the 2,600-member association.

"Stimulus from recent policy changes, such as the potential for 30-year mortgage amortization and the increase in insured mortgage rate cap, could bolster real estate activity in the coming months."

However, for now, the market remains lethargic as many potential buyers sit on the fence waiting for mortgage interest rates to dip and determine if a 30-year mortgage amortization for higher insured cap will actually help them.

"There may still be some disconnect between buyers' and sellers' expectations," said Sharun. "Sellers (are) potentially holding out for a higher payoff while buyers are continuing to take a more cautious approach, which could potentially be contributing to slower decision-making. However, the uptick of active listings should provide some much-needed options for potential buyers given that the area typically struggles to accumulate a healthy level of inventory to satisfy demand."