When all was said and done, the Kelowna housing market closed out 2024 with a soft 3,452 sales.
That's 1,748 single-family homes, 634 townhouses and 1,070 condominiums.
Overall, it's down from the 3,590 sales in 2023 -- which was also considered a mediocre year.
The Association of Interior Realtors' December market summary provided the numbers to compare 2024 to 2023.
After a post-pandemic surge in 2021 and 2022 with hectic sales and prices up over 40%, 2023 and 2024 saw a slump.
It was caused by runaway inflation and surging mortgage interest rates that battered the confidence of home sellers and buyers alike.
While, there was an easing of both inflation and interest rates in 2024, homes sales continued to slide overall.
Plus, prices didn't come down at the same rate as sales.
Thus, Kelowna is still considered unaffordable for many.
Sellers don't want to slash their asking prices from the new highs and buyers are cautious at paying the new highs.
Therefore, sales remain stagnant with prices lofty.
Interior Realtors statistics show the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna in December was $1,023,700.
That's down from the $1,131,800 record-high in April 2022.
In April 2020, a typical single-family home in Kelowna was selling at a benchmark of $670,000.
Depending on which way you look at it, the end of 2024 provided evidence that the real estate market is either on the rise or in a holding pattern.
In December in Kelowna, there were 116 single-family home sales, 40 townhouse sales and 69 condo sales.
That's down from November's 123 single-family sales, 50 townhouses and 98 condos.
However, it's up from soft December 2023 sales of 82 for single-family, 29 for townhouses and 29 for condos.
"Overall, sales in December (2024) reflected the type of activity we usually see for the time of year, which is generally one of the slower months given the holidays typically putting a temporary pause on homebuyer ventures," said Interior Realtors president Kaytee Sharun.
When it comes to prices, in December 2024 the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna was the aforementioned $1.023,700, a typical townhouse $746,400 and a typical condo $475,500.
That's very little change from the November benchmarks of $1,013,400, 726,400 and $476,500, respectively.
"The listings in the last quarter did see a decent spurt of activity, which should make for a fairly decent hand off for the new year in providing potential buyers more options," said Sharun.
"While inventory levels are currently healthy, it remains to be seen whether listing activity will sustain its momentum in the coming year, which could help mitigate potential upward pressure on prices."
Thumbnail photos from Realtor.ca
