As Kelowna house prices have continued to skyrocket in recent years, a new affordable five-storey housing development in the Rutland neighbourhood is helping lower-income residents get into the local real estate market.
With listings starting at $189,000, many future homes at SOLE Rutland at the intersection of Rutland Road N and Leathead Road will be significantly cheaper than the $347,000 it costs on average to buy a condo in the Central Okanagan — that’s according to a recent housing assessment report.
After bringing in affordable real estate developments around Water Street and Lakeview Village in Kelowna, Rutland Sole managing broker Mark West said it was great to finally bring in affordable housing to the Rutland area.
“We’re giving Rutland residents a foothold into the real estate market with this development,” said West.
“Our niche is affordable, smaller homes. This development is 68 condominiums, with 60 per cent of units under $360,000.”
While sales for the development started just last week, West has said there have already been tons of inquiries on the development from prospective homebuyers across all demographics.
“With this development, we’ve had numerous young people inquire. We’ve also had people looking to downsize who don’t necessarily need a big home.”
With leases on the average two-bedroom unit over $1900, West notes it’s likely cheaper for Kelowna residents to buy a home at the development than to keep on renting.
At the Rutland Sole development, the size of units vary from 484 square feet for a studio space to as large as 1084 square feet for a three-bedroom unit.
Despite the affordable homes, West acknowledges it’s sometimes been a challenge introducing more affordable homes into the market given how expensive it is to build in Kelowna.
“The big issue in Kelowna is that land costs are expensive,” said West,
“City costs and land costs are increasing and are putting big pressures on development. That includes new construction starts.”
To help address the affordability issue, vacation rentals are also prohibited at the development.
For more information on the development, you can visit the company’s website.
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