Residential real estate sales for the month of March saw a slight uptick over February sales showing signs that the typically busy spring market has commenced in the region, reports the Association of Interior REALTORS®.

A total of 1,898 residential unit sales were recorded across the Association region, marking a 25% decrease compared to a record-high number of units sold in March 2021. New residential listings coming onto market in March saw a decrease of 7% within the region with 2,871 new listings recorded compared to the same period last year yet increased 55% compared to last month’s 1,850. The overall active listings clocked in marginally below last year March’s active listings with 4,018 listings that is a nearly 3% decrease in year-over-year comparisons.

“It is encouraging to see that in the month of March we saw a slight increase of sales, as well as an upswing of new listings compared to February, which is seasonally expected for the local real estate market as we head into the warmer spring months,” says the Association of Interior REALTORS® President Kim Heizmann, adding that “the spring fling seems to have been kick-started which is great news for buyers and sellers, however, new listings are still not coming on to the market at the rate needed to meet demand.”

“Without a drastic supply of housing coming onto market, the lack of inventory will continue to impact buyers and sellers in the coming months,” noted Heizmann.

The benchmark price for homes in the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan, South Okanagan, and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions had double-digit percentage increases in year-over-year comparisons for another consecutive month across all home categories, with the greatest increase being for single-family homes in the South Okanagan. The benchmark price for single-family homes in the South Okanagan recorded a 37.6% increase compared to March 2021 coming in at $731,400.

The average number of days to sell a home, always a good barometer to watch, dropped down to 46 days from 54 days last month. It’s important to note that the average of days on market is for the entire Okanagan region and that the indicator will vary depending on home type and sub-region.

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