Inventory chills slow Kootenay real estate in January, but brisk and sunny days ahead

Nelson, BC – 02-07-2022: On February 7th, the Kootenay Association of REALTORS® (KAR) and the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association (KADREA) merged with the Association of Interior REALTORS® to form the third-largest REALTOR® Association in the province.

The Kootenay region MLS® System recorded a total of 175 residential unit sales in January 2021, a fall of 20.8 per cent from January 2021. The average MLS® residential price in the region was $494,608, a 17.8 per cent rise from $419,647 recorded in the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume in January was $86.5 million, a 66.6 per cent rise over January 2021, which stood at $92.7 million. There are 626 active residential listings as of Feb 07, 2022.

Unit residential sales in the Kootenay region remained slower than usual last month. According to former KAR President, Bruce Seitz, “Our sales performance followed its seasonal trend of having fewer sales per month towards the end of the year. This drop was quite a sharp one in December 2021, and we’ve nearly remained at the same level in January 2022. In a way, I’m glad that the market has slowed down a little, as this could bring some much-needed supply and demand balance. Having said that, we should acknowledge that we’re quite far from a balanced market in the Kootenay region. Average prices continue to rise, with inventory staying at the same level month-on-month. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen a substantial rise in inventory numbers, and it’s my hope that this will improve soon. At this point in time, I feel that having a slow month in terms of sales might actually be a good thing for the market overall.”

Demand for homes in the region continues to apply upward pressure on average residential prices. Seitz adds, “Yes, average residential price in the region has seen consistent jumps month-on-month for the whole of last year. Since we’ve now reached a point where there are lots of buyers but not enough homes to sell, we may notice plateaued average prices over the next couple of months. In my view, an improvement in inventory and stable average prices at the beginning of spring will be instrumental in driving our market performance for the rest of the year.”

In the last 12 months, a total of 3938 residential unit sales were recorded by Kootenay REALTORS®, with a dollar volume of $1.79 Bn at an average price of $454,813.

Association of Interior REALTORS® - Kootenay Branch

102-247 Baker Street

Nelson, BC, V1L 4H4

communications@kar.realtor

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January only Residential Units Sold, Dollar Volume and Average Sales:

Last 12 months Residential Units Sold, Dollar Volume and Average Sales: Feb 01, 2021 to Jan 31, 2022 vs Feb 01, 2020 to Jan 31, 2021

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East Kootenay: Canal Flats, Cranbrook, Cranbrook Lakes, Creston, Creston Rural, Elkford, Fernie, Fernie Rural, Invermere, Invermere Rural, Sparwood, Radium, Kimberley, Kimberley/Cranbrook Rural, Golden, Golden Rural

West Kootenay: Castlegar, Castlegar Rural, Fruitvale, Grand Forks, Grand Forks Rural, Grand Forks Rural West, Greenwood, Kaslo, Midway, Montrose, Nakusp, Nakusp Rural, Nelson, Nelson Rural, New Denver, Rossland, Salmo, Silverton, Slocan, Trail, Trail Rural, Warfield

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Avg. Selling Price (Feb 2020 onward) of units sold: ALL RESIDENTIAL

Avg. Selling Price (Feb 2020 onward) of units sold: SINGLE-FAMILY ONLY