The Kamloops housing market is undoubtedly cooling and slowing.
"A number of factors, or even a combination of factors such as interest rate hikes, recommencement of travel and the school break could all be reasons consumers pushed pause on their real estate plans," said Lyndi Cruickshank, president of the 2,500-member Association of Interior Realtors.
"Seasonally, it is not out of the ordinary to see a dip in sales in the summer, although real estate market activity across most regions in the province was below average last month, not just within the Interior."
In Kamloops, last month, compared to July 2021, sales plunged 33% to 120 for single-family homes, plummeted 39% to 19 for townhouses and freefell 47% to 30 for condominiums.
While benchmark selling prices in July are all up from the same time last year for single-family homes, townhouses and condos, the real story is what's happened in the last couple of months.
After a buying frenzy pushed home prices to record-highs in May and June, a slide started, prompted by increasing mortgage interest rates, inflation and the market collectively taking a breather after the incredible run-up made everything unaffordable.
In July, the benchmark selling prices of a typical single-family home was $712,100, down $75,726 from June's $787,826 and a $108,890 drop from the record-high $820,990 in May.
For townhouses, the July benchmark was $559,600, off $9,796 from June's record-high $569,396.
When it comes to condos, the July benchmark was $395,300, a $8,023 slip from June's record-high $403,323.
Definitely gone are the days of market peak January and February when homes for sale attracted bidding wars and sold for over list price.
Another sign of a slowing market is the average number of days a home is listed for sale before being purchased.
For single-family homes in July that was 40 days, up 17% from last year.
Townhouses are actually selling quicker -- 25 days in July, down 29% from last year.
For condos 37 days up 29%.
"We are seeing inventory (number of homes for sale) accumulate, slowly moving upward to healthier levels of inventory, which is a welcomed relief for prospective buyers," said Cruickshank.
"However, the higher mortgage interest rates are still impacting the real estate market with some home buyers finding it more difficult to qualify for mortgages. Hopefully, we will see fixed mortgage rates come down and bring some relief for buyers, particularly first-time buyers. Any interest rate relief may see an increase in sales activity returning to the market over the fall months."
