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WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2022 | Volume 35 No. 28
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Interest rates having some effect, but house prices remain high
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The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association says higher interest rates are starting to have an impact in the region, but the average price of a Kamloops home remains at record-high levels. The Bank of Canada key interest rate has more than tripled over the past two years, with three rate hikes â to 0.5 per cent, one per cent and 1.5 per cent â happening in the first half of 2022. The key interest rate is now comparable to what was seen in 2018, when the average cost of a Kamloops home was nearly half the price it is now. In June, the average price of a single-family home in the Kamloops and district area was $787,826, up another 16.6 per cent. Townhouses had an average cost of $569,396, while condos and apartments averaged $403,323. âThe impact of the doubling of mortgage rates on residential sales performance in Kamloops and district is starting to show, but is not reflective
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of the kind of impact some of the other regions are experiencing," said Lyndi Cruickshank, the president of the Association of Interior Realtors. The housing price index, which indexes average prices relative to the average cost in 2005, shows that over the past 17 years, house prices have nearly quadrupled in the B.C. Interior. The same increase is seen in Greater Vancouver, while a five-fold increase has been seen in the Fraser Valley. Sales activity is relatively stable compared to last month, with 263 homes sold in May and 250 in June. However, compared to last June, there were 25 per cent fewer sales. Average prices across all categories showed doubledigit percentage increases since the year before. Listings have shot up, as well, with June seeing twice as many listings as in 2021. Cruickshank said it's not unusual for mortgage rates to affect sales activity and that the slow-down may provide some more time for buyers to make decisions.