It’s likely the sluggish economy.

Mortgage interest rates that aren’t coming down fast enough.

Wages that aren’t going up fast enough.

Continued unaffordable home prices.

And the hefty cost of everything else from gas and groceries to utilities and taxes.

As such the reasons for Kelowna’s stagnant housing market are myriad.

This week, the 2,600-member Association of Interior Realtors released August sales and prices data that show little change from the month before and the month before that.

It’s a holding pattern, an impasse, an inertia caused by all those aforementioned reasons.

Plus, there’s the situation of buyers not wanting to pay more and sellers not wanting to let their properties go for less.

It creates a scenario where nothing much happens, nothing much changes.

</who>Kadin Rainville is president of the 2,600-member Association of Interior Realtors.

Association of Interior Realtors president Jadin Rainville puts a different spin on it.

“This relative steadiness is a healthy development, as it creates a more predictable environment for both buyers and sellers,” he said.

Last month the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna was $1,050,900, up a bit from the $1,045,000 it was in July.

Single-family sales last month came in at 157, a drop from 198 in July.

</who>Photo credit: Realtor.ca</who>This three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,866-square-foot house on Helgason Drive is listed for sale for $1,049,000, which is a little less than the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna in August.

When it comes to townhouses, the benchmark price in August was $721,900, down a bit from the $724,700 it was at in July.

Townhouse sales last month were 47, off from 61 in July.

<who>Photo credit: Realtor.ca</who>This four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 2,300-square-foot townhouse on Shannon Heights Court in West Kelowna is listed for sale for $720,000, which is just a little less than the $721,900 benchmark selling price of a typical townhouse in the Central Okanagan in August.

Condominium sales slipped to 101 in August from 115 in July.

Condo benchmark price also slid, from $504,500 in August to $497,000 in July.

<who>Photo credit: Realtor.ca</who> A two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,075-square-foot condominium in the Sole Rutland building is listed for sale for $499,000, which is just a little more than the $497,000 benchmark selling price of a typical condo in Kelowna in August.

Rainville again reframed the analysis.

“Real estate activity softened toward the end of the month, which is not uncommon, when seasonal patterns and summer activities often play a role in moderating market activity,”
said the realtor.

“However, sales still outperformed last year’s pace, underscoring a positive trend of the last few months despite lingering economic uncertainty.”

The average number of days it takes to sell a property is also a good indication of where the market is going.

Such numbers were little changed between July and August again pointing toward a listless market.

In August, single-family homes that sold had been on the market an average 58 days, 3 more than July’s 55.

For townhouses it was 56 days in August, 54 days in July.

And, for condos, 68 days in August, 67 in July.

Again, Rainville sees the good in it.

“It’s encouraging to see the market continuing to build momentum and signaling recovery, particularly when compared to some of the other markets across the province,” he said.

“Minimal fluctuations in year-over-year pricing suggests a stabilizing market, reinforcing broader recovery trends.”

Thumbnail photos from Realtor.ca