Kelowna housing market starts 2025 with a bang

Normally, after the holidays, real estate sales pick up as people return to routine and buyers and sellers again become motivated.

That not only happened in Kelowna in January, but it happened with a surge.

"Last month exceeded expectations, reaching 10-year average sales levels across many of the association's regions," said Kaytee Sharun, president of the 2,600-member Association of Interior Realtors.

"Milder winter conditions coupled with a balanced market and digestible interest rates may have helped drive overall market activity."

Let's put that into numbers.

Last month, 110 single-family homes sold in Kelowna, up a whopping 41% from January 2024.

The benchmark selling price of a single-family home in January 2025 was $1,030,600, up 5.4% from the same month last year.

In the post-pandemic boom, the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home peaked at $1,131,800 in April 2022.

In January 2025, 38 townhouses changed hands, up a substaintial 35.7% compared to the sales activity of January 2024.

The townhouse benchmark last month was $742,900, up 5.1% from January 2024.

The townhouse record-high benchmark was $829,000 in May 2022.

When it comes to condominiums, 63 sold last month, up 10.5% from January 2024.

The condo benchmark in January 2025 was $517,700, up 4.3% from the same month a year before.

It was April 2022 when the condo benchmark hit its highest $557,700.

While sales are brisk, price increases are not.

That's because while some confidence may be returning to the housing market, Kelowna is still considered ultra-expensive and unaffordable for many.

Thus, price increases are dampered as sales increases hit the double digits.

"With an uptick in activity, it's important to remember that homes priced in line with current market conditions (tentative recovery) tend to sell more quickly, while those clinging to past market values tend to linger on the market and risk going stale," said Sharun.

For example, if a potential seller lists their average single-family home at $1.2 million, it will likely sit unsold until the price comes down to closer to $1 million.

That same potential seller might have snagged that $1.2 million in boomtime 2022, but not today when potential buyers shop around more, negotiate more and expect more.

_{Thumbnail photo credits: Realtor.ca}