Strong numbers for real estate sales in the Kootenays continued in August, 2020, according to the Kootenay Association of Realtors. This comes after record setting July sales.
August numbers report a total of 426 residential unit sales recorded by the Multiple Listing Service in August, a rise of 33.5 per cent from the previous year.
That’s 262 unites for a value of $105,226,979 for the East Kootenay and 164 units, with a value of $63,600,908 for the West Kootenay.
“While the market’s performance may seem significantly higher compared to 2019, we must remember that 2019 was a slightly weaker year for the Kootenay real estate market. Covid-19 has certainly had an impact on our lives, and we are still looking for ways to navigate through this tough time. It is imperative that we look at all the aspects that the pandemic may have had an impact on. As we stand, our inventory levels have not been lower in the last two decades,” says KAR President Tyler Hancock.
Having lower inventory affects average prices in the region, he says. “When inventory levels are low and fewer listings coming up, we do see that more buyers are willing to pay more for a property they like. As inventory levels have been consistently low, we may see the rise in average prices continue and reach the $400k mark in September. As average prices go up, we may find that there will be more sellers wanting to benefit as well. But we must remember that we are still dealing with a pandemic and sellers may be wary to list their property during this time. If we continue to remain supply starved, the next quarter will bring in an interesting time for realtors, in the Kootenay real estate market,” .
Year-to-date (YTD), Kootenay MLS® residential sales dollar in August was $748.9 million, 7.8 per cent higher than what it was last year. YTD Residential unit sales are down by 0.5 per cent at 2026 units, while the average MLS® residential price (YTD) was up by 7.7 per cent to $369,671.
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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