Real estate sales, housing construction up

Overall property sales for April in the North Okanagan were up 33.5 per cent to 271 units

Real estate activity remains strong.

Overall property sales for April in the North Okanagan were up 33.5 per cent to 271 units compared to the same month last year.

Total residential sales were up 28.6 per cent to 243 units, while single-family home sales were up 39.2 per cent to 142 units compared to April 2015.

“Housing demand in the Okanagan is exceptionally strong this spring,” said Anthony Bastiaanssen, Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board president.

“In addition to an increase in the number of local buyers, relocations from the Lower Mainland and other regions of Canada are becoming increasingly common.”

The average number of days to sell a single-family home in the North Okanagan was 84 in April compared to 80 days in April 2015.

House construction soars

There’s a lot of building underway in Vernon.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports there were 111 housing starts in April compared to 21 during the same month in 2015.

Of the 111 starts, there were 17 single-family starts and 94 multiple units.

Year-to-date, there have been 144 starts in Vernon, up from 95 during the first four months of 2015.

 

 

Vernon Morning Star