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South Okanagan fastest growing real estate market in B.C.

There was over $1 billion in residential sales in 2020
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Real estate sales in the South Okanagan grew by more than any other part of the province in 2020. (Marissa Tiel - Black Press)

It has been a busy year for real estate in the South Okanagan with more than $1 billion in residential sales.

According to statistics from the B.C. Real Estate Association, the South Okanagan market saw the biggest growth out of all the markets in the province.

The South Okanagan cleared $1,165,841,014 in the dollar value for 2020’s sales, a 53 per cent increase compared to 2019’s $760,668,276 and 2018’s $788,701,144.

READ MORE: Okanagan-Shuswap real estate boards merging to form 13th largest association in Canada

Overall the South Okanagan saw a 32.7 per cent rise in the total number of sales from 2019 to 2020, considerably higher than the provincial average of 21.5 per cent.

The South Okanagan Real Estate Board’s numbers back up the feeling of a rapid pace that the market has been moving at.

Residential property sales, not including mobile homes or condominium units, rose by 24 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. In total, for 2020 there were 1,461 residential properties sold compared to 1,110 in 2019 and 1,147 in 2018.

The number of condominium units and mobile home sales rose by 41 per cent, increasing from 532 to 751 sold.

It wasn’t only sheer numbers that saw a substantial increase in 2020. The average sale price of residential properties went up 15.8 per cent, or $81,966 from $518,334 to $600,300.

The difference from year to year was clear, with average house prices in December soaring from $548,070 in 2019 to $692,130 in 2020.

Mobile home and condominium sales stayed closer together, with the average sale price rising by 11 per cent, from $324,244 to $362,752.

The South Okanagan saw the second-highest increase in prices by 15.5 per cent across the province, behind only the Okanagan Mainline market’s 16.7, both of which were higher than the provincial average increase of 11.7 per cent.

READ MORE: South Okanagan real estate sales boom in September

The single biggest month in the South Okanagan was September, which saw 304 residential properties sold for a total of $162,219,872.

From January to December, the average price of a residential property, not including mobile homes or condominiums, grew from $521,136 to $692,130 in the South Okanagan.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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