The number of real estate units sold last month in the Kootenays dropped by 19.9 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to the Association of Interior Realtors.
Across the region, 302 units sold, the association said in a news release, a decrease from a “frenzied” number of units sold recorded in May last year, president Lyndi Cruickshank said in a news release.
However, she said while that was a steep decline year over year, it was only 7.1 per cent lower than April and 6.3 per cent lower than March.
She says the month-to-month comparison is “fairer” because it compares two “normal” months rather than one an unusual month to one in a more normal range.
The number of active listings in the Kootenay Boundary stood at 1,067, which was up 6.3 per cent from last year and the number of new listings was 558, up 0.7 per cent.
Average prices saw double-digit percentage increases across all home categories compared to May 2021, with the greatest increase occurring within the condominium category with a 37.3 per cent increase.
“It is important for buyers and sellers alike to understand that sales are not the same thing as value,” Cruickshank said. “The value of homes in the region remains steady and hasn’t gone down, despite sales, which is the number of homes sold, dipping slightly.”
Cruickshank added that unlike other parts of BC, the Kootenay market is still doing well.
“We’re seemingly flattening the sales graph that reached record levels in 2021, but the market is yet to demonstrate a slowdown of any kind. We continue to sell above our monthly average of about 280-300 and have not observed a huge correction in average prices.”