The Central Okanagan MLS stats for October were posted last week and to be honest, I was a little surprised.

October residential sales came in as the third worst month in sales year to date.  With only 125 sales, February and January were the only months which lost to October with sales numbers as low as 98 for the month.  The inventory of residential listings for this time remains constant over last year.  The Median home prices dropped by $12,000 from 2010.

The Apartment sales were slightly more encouraging with an increase of 11% over last year but only ranked 4th out of 10 months for sales figures this year. May saw the largest Apartment sales amounting to 68 deals while October lagged behind with 50.

Townhome sales were also up 12% over last year yet also ranked poorly this year ending 3 out of 10 for sales for the past 10 months.  Townhome buyers will note an increase in median price over last year by $35,000 to $350,000.  That said, there is an increase of 11% in available inventory on the townhome market

Lot sales have only broken the 20 sales in a month once (in July) but I am encouraged to see more action this year – sales are up by 20%.  Lot prices are also seeing an increase in median prices with prices increasing by $33,000 over last year.

But overall, as I said, I am quite surprised at the October results.  Nyrose & Associates had our best month this year (May was our second busiest) in October!  Of course, our team sales are certainly affected by the trending in the apartment and townhome market, but even still, it appears our experience was unique.  I am encouraged to see the out of town buyers coming back – we had several qualified buyers coming from Alberta and Saskatchewan.  I am very proud of my team – Dave, Jennifer and Ellen all worked extremely hard in ensuring potential buyers coming into Enclave, Elkridge and Copper Sky respectively, found the right home at the right price.  And of course, thanks to Felicia who has had two very busy months in the office.  Nyrose & Associates currently manages over 90 listings throughout Kelowna and West Kelowna.  We are proud to be the Central Okanagan’s top real estate team specializing in project sales and multi-family developments.