As far as April real estate trends are concerned, it’s still a seller’s market.

According to Chelsea Mann, president of Kamloops and District Real Estate Association (KADREA), the area is on its 10th consecutive month of breaking sales records.

“Every month, we’re sort of seeing the same thing, inventory and supply extremely low, sales extremely high,” Mann said.

Newly released statistics show 382 Kamloops-area homes were sold in April, including single-family residences, apartment units, duplexes and townhomes. This is 218 per cent more sales than April of 2020, but Mann cautions against comparing with last year, when sales were down.

“We’re still up 43 per cent from 2019,” Mann said.

The average price also continues to tick upwards. In April, the average price for multi-family homes in the Kamloops area is $401,265, up nearly 38 per cent when compared to April last year.

The average price for a single family residence is $656,238, up almost 27 per cent from April 2020.

Mann said even if the future continues to see an increase in supply, factors causing high demand for housing are not changing quickly.

“Mortgage rates are extremely low, still. It’s a good time to borrow money. And a lot of people are looking to change their environments,” Mann said.

“They’ve been in their homes now for a really long time, noticing all the things that they don’t like about them, or they need more space, or they’re permanently working from home now, so they need that dedicated office space, or more room for running around in the backyard.”

For those looking to put their home on the market, Mann said it’s a good time to sell.

Mann said she has noticed some are worried about what they might be able to buy if they put their current home on the market.

She said if homeowners work with a professional, they can be guided through the best way to navigate the search for a new home.

“You really want to have trusted advisors helping walk you through, because it is different than than any other market that we’ve seen,” she said.

For those looking to buy, Mann advises them to be prepared.

“You do not want to start your search and find the perfect home and haven’t spoken to your mortgage broker or your bank,” Mann said.

“When it gets time to write an offer, you want to have everything that you possibly can have done ahead of time done.”

Moving into the rest of spring and early summer, Mann said she hopes the trend of increased listings continues, so the market can eventually find more balance.

“As new listings hit, there’s more for buyers to choose from. So it does take that pressure off. But because this pressure has been so high for quite a long time, it’s not a quick fix,” she said.

Originally Appeared On: https://www.castanet.net/news/Kamloops/333439/Kamloops-real-estate-still-hot-but-increase-in-listings-may-bring-future-balance