Last month the median single-family home price took a jump from $689,500 in June to $749,000 in July which is a significant jump, to say the least. One trouble with numbers and reporting is that it only tells you part of the story, sometimes you need to dig a bit deeper to see what are behind the numbers.
This week I look into the number of sales so far for this year in each price range in comparison to where things were last year at the same time, some of the sales may be constrained by the limited inventory and the couple months we were quarantined.
Price Sold Sales, Number of 2019 Sales, Number of 2020
$0 - 200 213 172
$200 - 300 323 293
$300 - 400 520 407
$400 - 500 514 377
$500 - 600 526 419
$600 - 700 433 417
$700 - 800 294 278
$800 - 900 148 159
$900 - 1,000 100 102
$1,000 - 1,250 93 112
$1,250 - 1,500 33 62
$1,500+ 52 71
These sales are for all sales in the Central Okanagan, they include mobile homes, strata's and single-family homes which gives a good overall sense of the entire market.
Looking at the number of sales so far compared to last year under $1M I don't think would surprise anyone. They are pretty similar to the year prior and until the $800-$900 range below last year which would follow the theory of fewer sales due to quarantine, the virus, and people losing their jobs or being laid off.
The interesting numbers happen in the higher price ranges, starting at the $800+ price ranges, but more specifically the higher end market. These figures are consistently higher than prior-year. $1.25M to $1.5M price range saw the biggest jump at 47% more transactions vs 2019. In the high-end market saw 26% more sales as well compared to 2019.
A bit shocked at this activity, I explored some reasons for what is going on and what people are thinking outside of what I am seeing in my business.
Talking to another agent in the office that is prominent in the high-end luxury listings, about the higher-end market, they as well were were a bit surprised as well with the uptick in action and sales considering everything that is going on in the world but at the end of the day what they are seeing is the buyers from outside the Okanagan are confident with the Okanagan.
I think we can all agree the Okanagan is a desirable place to live, one client even loved it so much they removed subject conditions of a $5M+ home before selling their home in another city, that is how confident people are in our area.
Another reason that we may be seeing higher-end market move a bit more which I explored a few weeks ago is the fact of future inflation and keeping money in the bank may have more downside than ever in the coming years, and people are looking at hedging their cash against inflation by putting it in gold, silver or real estate.
Everyone has their own motives and beliefs, there are a number of factors that could also be explored. I would love to hear your thoughts on the current real estate/ financial markets.
Have a great week!
-Mark
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