Yes, home sales in Kamloops were up in March compared to the doldrums in January and February.
However, the activity is still way off what it was just a year ago when the market was red-hot.
As well, selling prices, while up in the past couple of months, are considerably below record-highs set last spring.
"The upwards movement in sales activity compared to the previous month is showing signs that market activity is on its way to recovering from the previous month's slump, while still maintaining healthy market activity," said Association of Interior Realtors past-president Lyndi Cruickshank.
"A more balanced market allows both parties to confidently move forward with their real estate aspirations."
Aspirations are relative, of course.
Sellers will have to accept a price of about 22% less to sell their home compared to a year ago and it will take three times as long to sell it (66 days) compared to a year ago.
And while buyers can snag a lower price, take their time and negotiate more, they are still faced with historically high prices and not a lot of choice because inventory of homes for sale is still historically low.
Thus, Kamloops is still unaffordable for many low-and-medium income earners because of hefty prices, higher mortgage interest rates and rules requiring bigger down payments.
The seller of a typical single-family home will not get the record-high benchmark selling price of $820,990 they would have gotten in June 2022.
Instead, they can expect $198,590 less, or $622,400, which was the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kamloops in March.
That price, $622,400, is up a touch from the $615,500 in February and $605,100 in January.
In March, 113 single-family homes sold in the city, a healthy jump from 89 in February and 61 in January.
However, it's a plummet of 42% from March 2022 when the market was booming.
The sudden downturn in the housing market has been well-documented and fretted about.
Inflation ramped up post-pandemic, interest rates (including mortgage interest rates) were hiked up in an effort to (unsuccessfully) tame inflation and home buyers lost confidence.
Spring is traditionally the strongest time of year for home sales.
And this spring is no different with its little uptick.
But it will certainly not match last spring's price and sales frenzy.
When it comes to townhouses, 27 changed hands in Kamloops last month, a bump from 14 in February and 18 in January.
However, still 51% less than March 2022.
The benchmark selling price of a typical townhouse in the city last month was $527,300, up from $520,600 in February, but off $42,100 from the record-high of $569,400 set in the spring of 2022.
In March, 32 condominiums sold, a bump from 25 in February and only 11 in January, but still 27% less than the same month last year.
The benchmark selling price for a typical condo in Kamloops last month was $382,300, up from $354,000 in February and off $20,023 from the record-high benchmark of $403,323 in June 2022.
