Relief is on the way for prospective home buyers who have been left out in the cold by rising prices, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.
In its second-quarter update released Tuesday, the BCREA is forecasting prices to climb by another 21% in the Okanagan this year, then fall back to just a 1.6% increase in 2023.
The association is also forecasting the number of home sales to fall 19% on a year-over-year basis in 2022 and shrink another 14.8% in 2023.
Similar declines are forecast for the entire province with interest rates on the rise and expected to cool demand.
“After a strong first quarter, B.C. markets are now adjusting to a much different interest rate environment,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a press release.
“With mortgage rates surpassing 4% for the first time in over a decade, the housing market over the next two years may have very little resemblance to the housing market of the past year.
“On the supply side, we have begun to see active listings move off of record lows and re-sale inventories trend back toward balance. However, because inventories reached such low levels over the past year, the journey back to balance may take up to a year or more in some areas. As markets adjust to the new interest rate landscape, we anticipate that prices may be somewhat volatile but will ultimately flatten out through 2023.”
