Kamloops is continuing to counter province wide trends for real estate, at least for now.

Home sales in B.C., driven by the sagging Lower Mainland market, fell by 23 per cent from the same time last year. The Kamloops region, however, saw an increase in sales of five per cent compared to January last year.

Cameron Muir, chief economist for B.C. Real Estate Association, said some markets are going against the grain. 

“Housing demand across the province returned to long-term average levels last month,” he said in a statement.

“However, regional variations persist, with Victoria posting above average performance and Vancouver falling below the average.”

At the same time, the average price on the multiple listing service (MLS) declined by 17.5 per cent. Kamloops and District Real Estate Association estimated the average sale price for a residential detached home within the city in January was $410,000, a number that is stable. Numbers do vary from month to month due to price range of homes sold but has stayed over $400,000 since last year .

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Kamloops and District Real Estate Association recorded an 11^th consecutive double-digit increase in December 2016.

According to the Association’s statistics, home sales totaled 144 units in December 2016, up 28.6 per cent from December 2015. This was the best month of December since 2009.

On an annual basis home sales numbered 3,181 in 2016. This stood 23.6 per cent above 2015 and marked the first year to crack the 3,000 mark since 2007.

“Housing demand in the region remains historically strong,”  “2016 was the best year for the local housing market in almost a decade. Better still, the handoff into 2017 looks even stronger, with higher sales compared to one year ago, and quite a bit less inventory. This should further support prices this year.”

The average price of homes sold in December 2016 was a record $367,591, rising 18.4 per cent from a year earlier. The annual average sale price was $345,528, up 5.9 per cent from 2015.

The dollar value of all home sales in December 2016 was $52.9 million, up 52.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis and a record for the month. This was also the first time volumes had surpassed $50 million in December.

There were 138 new listings on the Association’s MLS® System in December 2016, down 21.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis. This was the lowest December level in 15 years.

Active residential listings on the Association’s MLS® System numbered 1,031 units at the end of December, down 23.1 per cent from a year earlier.

There were 7.2 months of inventory at the end of December 2016, down from 12 months a year earlier and below the long-run average for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

Sales of all property types numbered 162 units in December, an increase of 33.9 per cent from December 2015. The total value of all properties sold was $58.3 million, up 58.6 per cent from December 2015.

There are no changes to the first time home buyer exemption limits;

All buyers (whether first time buyers or not) no longer pay PTT on purchases of newly-built homes up to $750,000 in value; note the buyer must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident; there is a partial exemption for homes between $750,000.00 and $800,000.00; The newly built home exemption will only apply to people who actually occupy the home as their principle residence for a year after purchase. (relatives do not qualify)

PTT has changed so that there is now a 3% tax on amounts over $2,000,000.00. The 3% tax is only paid on the amount over $2,000,000.00, not the full price.

The existing first time home buyers program for re-sale homes remains unchanged. The threshold remains $475,000 with a partial exemption for homes between $475,000 and $500,000

House Sales Expected to Increase in Kamloops

Use our Property Transfer Tax Calculator.

The Property Transfer Tax is a tax payable to the Provincial Government by purchasers of real estate. The tax applies to all types of real estate, whether residential, commercial or industrial.

The amount of the Property Transfer Tax is 1% on the first $200,000.00 of the property’s fair market value and 2% on the remaining fair market value. For example, if the fair market value of the property is $200,000.00, the tax payable would be $2,000.00 (1% of $200,000.00). If the fair market value of the property is $250,000.00, the tax payable would be $3,000.00 (1% on the first $200,000.00 = $2,000.00 and 2% on the remaining $50,000.00 = $1,000.00).

“Fair Market Value” is best described as the price that would be paid for a property on the open market (which is usually the actual purchase price paid for the property).

There are a number of exemptions available to avoid this tax, the most common being for “First Time Home Buyers”. To qualify as a First Time Home Buyer, the following criteria must be met:

• Purchaser must never have owned an interest in a principal residence anywhere in the world at any time;
• Purchaser must be a citizen of or a permanent resident of Canada;
• Purchaser must have resided in B.C. for 12 consecutive months immediately before the date they become the registered owner, or the Purchaser has filed two income tax returns as a British Columbia resident within the prior 6 years of becoming the owner;
• To obtain full exemption, the purchase price must not exceed $475,000.00. A partial exemption is available for homes between $475,000.00 and $500,000.00 (see formula below);
• Purchaser must move into the property within ninety-two days after registration of the purchase of the property and reside in the property for at least one year;
• Pro rata exemption where property exceeds .5 hectares or a portion of the property is not residential (i.e. commercial lofts) – purchase price of entire property must not exceed the price limitations.

Other exemptions exist as well, such as a transfer of a principal residence between family members. For details on this and other exemptions, go to http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/RPT/ and pick the “Property Transfer Tax” button located on the right hand side on this screen.

Property Transfer Tax should not be confused with Property Tax. The Property Transfer Tax is a one time tax paid to the Provincial Government by purchasers of real estate. The Property Tax is the tax paid on an annual basis to the local City/Municipality.

Please remember that the Property Transfer Tax Act may frequently change along with the exemptions for payment of this Tax. While we try to keep our website up to date as much as possible, please do not rely upon the information without talking to one of our lawyers.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult a lawyer for individual advice regarding your own situation.

Copyright © 2008 by The Spagnuolo Group of Real Estate Law Firms. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.