This past winter the Bulletin reported on the less than robust real estate inventory in Kimberley. At the time local realtors hoped that with spring there would be an influx of more houses on the market.
That does not appear to be happening.
“We’re not really seeing a lot more on the market,” said Marilyn Jolie, a realtor with Royal Lepage East Kootenay Realty in Kimberley. “In the winter the inventory was at 36 single family homes on the market, then it went down to 26. Today (Tuesday, May 8, 2018) we are at 38. And they sell as fast as they come up. A lot of what’s on the market now already have offers on them.”
There are also a smaller number of condo offerings on the market.
“We have 49 right now, but 21 of those are quarter share. There’s very little there,” Jolie said.
There are also fewer lots on the market as those seeking homes are seeing the only way to get one is to build.
“We were running about 38 lots for sale. That’s down to 28. Because of the low inventory we are seeing more lot sales. There have been 11 lots sold in the last six months.”
Jolie says that in her opinion, spring doesn’t bring a lot of change anymore.
“Fourteen or 15 years ago when I started, spring made a difference. Now it’s all year long. Listings just trickle in. If the price is too high, they sit, and the top five per cent of the market are trickier to sell.”
However, even the high end is moving. Jolie says a million dollar listing sold this week, at $950,000.
“We also sold a house for $585,000 in Forest Crowne.
“That’s pretty close to what it would cost to build.
“It is definitely a seller’s market right now. And how do you get more houses on the market? Everyone wants to live here.”
Developers aren’t building spec homes right now, Jolie says, because what they are building is already sold.
“I would think it will stay this way,” she said.
She says the speculation tax has had a bit of a negative effect on out of province buyers who are unsure of whether it will be in effect in this area or not. And even though the market is tight, that’s not necessarily a good thing.
“If you have more buyers prices go up. Then more developers may build. We need more to sell.
“There are people looking but there’s nothing to buy, even in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. There are lots of people looking in the $350,000 range.”
It’s not just Kimberley, Jolie said. Cranbrook is hot right now too.
There are only 89 single family dwellings available in Cranbrook right now, and 118 have sold in the last six months.”
