Generally, February is a ho-hum month for home sales and prices.
Yet, this February, the Kamloops market put on a spring-like performance with a splurge in home sales and prices.
The latest figures released by the Association of Interior Realtors show that last month 133 homes of all kinds (88 single-family detached, 27 townhouses and 18 condominiums) changed hands.
That's a 48% jump from the 90 sales in January.
Sales aren't the only thing that accelerated.
Prices popped, from $605,100 in January to $647,000 in February for a typical fully detached home; from $511,700 in January to $526,00 in February for a typical townhouse; and from $336,400 in January to $380,100 in February for a typical condominium.
"It is refreshing to see overall market activity starting to pick up ahead of spring, which is typically a busier season for real estate transactions," said association past-president Chelsea Mann, who is also a realtor with Century 21 Realty Executives in Kamloops.
"With more potential interest rate improvements on the horizon, we are seeing more sellers who were previously hesitant to list gearing to jump in before the general real estate market spring rush."
The bump in February bodes well for March, April, May and June, the spring months when real estate sales and prices commonly gain momentum.
The Kamloops market peaked in late 2021 and early 2022 in a post-pandemic buying frenzy that saw prices hit record hits of $820,990 for a single-family detached home, $569,400 for a townhouse and $403,323 for a condo.
The subsequent inflation surge and spike in mortgage interest rates slowed the economy and eroded home sales and prices.
This late-winter rally and an expected strong spring won't recover all those losses, but it is a step in the right direction.
"Activity in the Kamloops and district region has steadily been pickin up over the last month with both buyers and sellers seemingly raring to get going on their real estate aspirations," said Mann.
"With active listings climbing, the region a may already be well into the rebound phase with inventory depicting numbers of pre-pandemic levels."
Thumbnail photos from Century 21 Executives Realty website
