While Canada’s interest rates have taken a significant leap in the upward direction, it’s still business as usual here in for the Kelowna real estate market. As Kelowna continues to grow, developers are taking note of the major opportunities that await in the Okanagan.
Kelowna is BC’s fastest growing city
The Central Okanagan is one of the fastest growing regions in the province. According to Business In Vancouver, the area saw a 14 per cent increase from 2016 to 2021!
While the pandemic slowed things down, it opened up an entire world of remote work. Many businesses adapted to remote work, and many are sticking with it, which means many people have the freedom of no longer being tied to the location of their job.
Come for the sun, stay for the lifestyle
The lifestyle in the Central Okanagan is for those that love the outdoors and mild winters, which means more people than ever are eyeing it for relocation. There’s just one problem.
The city has an issue (that many would be envious of) in that the city is growing so quickly that the Kelowna real estate market is unable to keep up with the demand.
The need for multi-family housing is through the roof as more and more people look to relocate to the Kelowna area. But that’s not all as the demand for recreational properties is skyrocketing as well.
What is a recreational property?
A recreational property is any dwelling that isn’t your primary residence and is used for recreational purposes—more commonly called a vacation home.
The Association of Interior Realtors recently reported that recreational property prices are up over 256 per cent since last year (although take that with a grain of salt because only two recreational properties were sold, which is an extremely small sample size).
Industrial and multi-family properties remain strong
For industrial and multi-family properties, prices per square foot are increasing amidst record low inventory levels.
Prices for industrial land are on the rise as construction companies need more storage space for not only their building materials, but also retail space to show off their work as well. Depending on the location in the city, businesses could pay anywhere between $17 and $26 per square foot in rent, as raw industrial land approaches $3M per acre.
Kelowna’s zoning bylaws encourage mixed-use
Kelowna’s zoning bylaws encourage mixed use buildings, which is usually retail or commercial space on the ground floor and apartments or condos on the upper levels. The hope is that this will alleviate some of the strain on the housing market through higher density, and Kelowna isn’t the only area that’s doing it.
Land consolidations that allow the construction of multi-unit buildings are even being considered in Rutland and Lake Country to try and meet the need for high-density housing.
There’s so much construction!
There are multiple large-scale projects currently underway in the Central Okanagan.
Between Kelowna and Penticton is the Greata Ranch, which is 46 acres of lakefront property looking at mixed-use developments.
There’s also the 425-home development in the Tower Ranch area that was recently approved, and the 16-building, 1,000-home development on Lakeshore Road.
In Downtown Kelowna, the University of British Columbia-Okanagan is pushing for a 46-story residential and administration building.
Is it enough?
The question remains if this will be enough? For an enterprising developer, there’s a prime opportunity to get in on the ground floor. And for those that want in, they’ll need a qualified, experienced realtor who knows the area to help them out.
The Mayne Brothers have 40 years combined experience and can help developers find their footing in the Kelowna real estate market. To learn how The Mayne Brothers can help you, call us at 1-800-430-5030.
