Despite residential unit sales being slightly off last year’s pace in the Kootenays, and in the Interior as a whole, demand remains high and value remains strong.

The Association of Interior Realtors see this as a path to a more normal market after two tumultuous pandemic years.

“While the number of units sold seems like a drop when comparing it to the historically high activity experienced in May 2021, sales across the region really only slid down 1.2 per cent compared to last month,” says the Association of Interior Realtors President Lyndi Cruickshank. “At this time, that is a fairer comparison as it compares two normal months rather than comparing one month of unusual real estate movement with one that is within a normalized range. An apples to apples comparison, if you will.”

In the Kootenay region, there were 302 units that sold in the month of May 2022, 7.1 per cent lower than April 2022 and 6.3 per cent lower than the 336 sales in March 2022. Average prices saw double-digit percentage increases across all home categories compared to May 2021, with the greatest increase occurring within the condominium category with a 37.3 per cent increase.

“It is important for buyers and sellers alike to understand that sales are not the same thing as value. The value of homes in the region remains steady and hasn’t gone down, despite sales, which is the number of homes sold, dipping slightly,” notes Cruickshank.

“Contrary to the trends among other regions in the province, the Kootenay market is sustaining well. We’re seemingly flattening the sales graph that reached record levels in 2021, but the market is yet to demonstrate a slowdown of any kind. We continue to sell above our monthly average of about 280-300 sales and have not observed a huge correction in average prices.”

There were 558 new listings recorded by the MLS® System in May 2022 and 1,067 active listings overall in the Kootenay and Boundary regions.

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