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$1M house is now the norm in Kelowna

We've talked about it for months.

And finally, in December, the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna broke the $1M barrier for the first time ever.

It's $1,004,900 to be exact, an astounding 32% more than the typical price of $761,000 just a year ago and the $978,500 it was in November.

</who>The benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in December in Kelowna was over $1M for the first time ever at $1,004,900. This five-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,100-square-foot house on Josselyn Court listed for sale for $1,099,000 is an example of 'typical.'

It was just a few years ago that a cool $1M could buy you a mansion in Kelowna, likely with swimming pool and a view of Okanagan Lake.

Heck, it was only a decade ago that a million bucks could have landed you a beautiful lakefront home.

But the Kelowna real estate market has changed drastically in the past couple of years.

$1M is no longer the magic number it was in housing.

In fact, as the most recent Association of Interior Realtors numbers indicate, $1M gets you just a nice, average, typical home in a nice, average, typical neighbourhood, nothing too fancy and most likely not a pool or a lake view.

Of course, the $1M milestone is exciting if you're already a homeowner because it means your house is valuable and your net worth has skyrocketed.

But, $1M can also be a depressing breakthrough for potential first-time homebuyers who increasingly see themselves priced out of the market.

The city has always been a desirable place to live, work, play and invest.

But that allure was only amplified during the pandemic, attracting Vancouverites and Torontonians who sold their $1.6M homes and moved to Kelowna thinking $1M was a deal, driving up prices along the way.

Also playing into the supply-and-demand, higher-prices scenario is the lack of inventory.

There simply aren't enough homes on the market for the number of people itching to buy, which drives prices even further.

</who>Kim Heizmann is the president of the Association of Interior Realtors and a realtor with Century 21 Vernon.

"The number of active listings continues to fall short of buyers' demand at historical levels," says Association of Interior Realtors president Kim Heizmann, a realtor with Century 21 Vernon.

"It makes it unlikely for buyers to see a softening on prices as we head into the new year."

In addition to record-high prices, sales are also at an all-time high.

In 2021, there were more than 7,000 residential sales totallying more than $5.5 billion, beating the previous sales record set in 2016.

The benchmark selling prices of typical townhouses and condominiums also ended the year at record highs.

For a townhouse that was $687,600, a 26% jump over the year, and for a condo, $511,700, a 28% hike.



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