Kelowna house prices rise 6.1%

A new housing price survey shows that the typical price for a home in Kelowna rose 6.1 per cent during the first quarter of 2016.

The average price for a home in the region is now $483,884 according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home saw a significant increase of 13.1 per cent year-over-year to $631,242. Bungalow prices rose 2.4 per cent year-over-year to $472,519. During the same period, the median price of a condominium increased 1.6 per cent to $306,042.

"The Kelowna housing market is driven by demand from both local buyers and those from British Columbia's Lower Mainland, including younger buyers who have been priced out of the Vancouver market," said Francis Braam, owner and managing broker, Royal LePage Kelowna. "With strong housing demand and country-leading economic growth in the province, we do not expect this market to slow any time soon. It continues to be a seller's market for most housing segments in the region."

Nationally, Canada's residential real estate market showed strong year-over-year price increases in the first quarter of 2016. The Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate markets continue to lead the country in home price appreciation, with Canada's economic landscape supporting robust housing demand in these metropolitan areas.

Additionally, an emerging trend of inter-provincial migration to British Columbia and Ontario from commodity-focused economic regions such as Alberta is expected to put further upward pressure on home prices in these areas in the coming months.

The price of a home in Canada increased 7.9 per cent year-over-year to $512,621 in the first quarter of 2016. The price of a two-storey home rose 9.2 per cent year-over-year to $629,177, and the price of a bungalow increased 6.8 per cent to $426,216. During the same period, the price of a condominium increased 4.0 per cent to $344,491.

"Redistribution of labour across the country is further reinforcing disparities among housing markets, as the broader impacts of the oil recession on Alberta's economy take hold. For the first time in many years, we are witnessing an out-migration trend in the province, as economic conditions and employment prospects dim," continued Soper.

British Columbia and Ontario are expected to be the top recipients of new household inflows in the coming year. This is expected to further fuel housing demand and price appreciation in larger centres such as Greater Vancouver.

This is in sharp contrast to the situation from 2011 to 2014, and in the mid 2000's, when a booming energy sector attracted families from all over Canada to Alberta.