December 2023 Market Statistics

Kamloops Residential Real Estate Market Activity Slower Than Usual
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – January 4th, 2024. Residential real estate market sales activity for December cooled as high
interest rates continued to impact the real estate market, reports the Association of Interior REALTORS® (the
Association).
A total of 528 residential unit sales were recorded across the Association region in December coming in below
November’s 813 units sold and representing a 12.4% decrease in sales compared to December 2022.
New residential listings saw a healthy increase of 16.7% compared to December 2022 with 859 new listings
recorded last month. The total number of active listings saw an increase of 24.3% of total inventory compared to
December 2022 with 5,889 recorded across the Association region. The highest percentage increase in active
listings was seen in the South Okanagan for another consecutive month with a total increase of 47.5% compared to
December 2022.
“While we usually see a slowdown in market activity during the holiday season, sales activity was slower than usual
in December” says the Association of Interior REALTORS® President Chelsea Mann, adding that “buyers and sellers
who have been waiting on the sidelines for potential interest rate relief may likely still be optimistically holding off
on pursuing their real estate endeavors to see if the new year will finally provide more favorable mortgage
rates.”
“Overall, 2023 was a bit of a weak year for real estate sales with three rate hikes, devastating wildfires, a lack of
affordable housing and other outside factors all likely contributing to a general slowdown in transactions,” says
Mann.
Within the Kamloops and District region, there were 87 residential unit sales recorded last month, down from the
153 recorded in November 2023 and down 6.5% from December 2022’s unit sales.
There were 133 new listings recorded in December in the Kamloops and District region, which was an increase of
19.8% compared to December 2022, and down from November 2023’s 273 new listings. Overall inventory, or active
listings saw an increase of 11.4% compared to December 2022, coming in at 740.
“While real estate transactions are still transpiring in the Kamloops and District region, sales activity was lower than
what we typically see during the holiday season. However, the increase in inventory could be a positive sign that
activity will pick up again in the coming months,” says Mann.
The benchmark price, a better representation of value compared to the average or median price as it represents a
dwelling of “typical attributes”, saw increases in all housing categories compared to December 2022, with the
highest percentage increase in the condominium category up 5.4%, coming in at $375,500. The benchmark price
for townhomes and single-family homes increased 3.6% and 5.1% respectively in year-over-year comparison,
coming in at $521,200 for townhomes and $650,000 for single-family homes.