HIGGINS REPORT ON THE MARKET MAY 2012

The Okanagan Mainline Real
Estate Board reported 9,651 Active MLS®
Listings with 5,283 of them being located in
the Central Okanagan Zone boundaries available
for sale. The listing inventory is down
only slightly, 1.55%, from 2011 YTD inventory
of 5,302 units. 1,215 Properties were
listed on the MLS® in the month of May
which is on par with 2011’s May listing numbers
of 1,214. Buyers have ample selection
and competitively priced homes are selling
quicker than the average 90 days to sell.
The local real estate market was much
improved during the month of May with a
19.13% sale unit increase over last year.
436 Properties traded hands in May 2012 in
comparison to 366 properties in May of 2011.
Year to date unit sales are up 7.95% with
1,629 units of sales in 2012 in comparison to
1,509 units of sale in 2011. The Average
Residential Sale Price YTD is $461,777 which
is down 1.45% compared to last YTD Average
Sale Price in 2011 of $468,560. Noteworthy
YTD unit sales increases include Duplex sales
up 43.48%, Apartment sales up 17.71%,
Acreage sales up 37.5% and Total Lot sales
up 27.87%.
Real estate market experts remain cautiously
optimistic about the recovery and predict
moderate growth in 2012 and 2013.