“Obviously, we couldn’t show people homes in areas of evacuation order,” said Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board vice-president Gretchen Gebhard, “but activity was only down a bit in August, which is not that much, considering.”
A total of 213 homes worth $52.3 million changed hands in Kelowna in August, down from 291 in July, according to just-released board statistics.
When it comes to construction for new homes, activity started on 126 homes in August, down from 190 in July.
“Access to certain areas was restricted and there were issues of services and utilities,” said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. analyst Paul Fabri.
“As a result, August and likely September will be affected. But the medium- and long-term look quite good.”
In fact, the Okanagan Mountain forest fire, which burned 234 homes to the ground and forced the evacuation of 30,000 at its peak, is seen only as a blip amid the housing boom.
“Kelowna is still Kelowna,” said Fabri.
“It’s a desirable place to live, and people will continue to move here and buy or build a home. I don’t see prices being impacted.”
In fact, even during the blip in August, the average price of a resale home was up to $245,441 from $234,124 in July.
And the average price tag on a new home is $260,000.
“At the end of the day, the fire will be good for our market,” said Gebhard.
“First of all, the intense news coverage put us on the world map. And even if the pictures were of fire and destroyed homes, people also saw this beautiful Valley and mountains, the big lake and beautiful homes and neighbourhoods that were not destroyed.”
House insurance was a big issue initially, with insurance companies not sure if they would renew or issue new coverage in Kelowna because the fire is so close.
However, one deal at a time, homeowners are usually able to find coverage through a broker.
The rebuilding of the 234 destroyed homes is expected to be done with insurance money and will be integrated into Kelowna’s brisk construction sector, which sees about 2,000 homes built per year.
Gebhard has also heard of some well-heeled, burned-out families buying another house to live in while they rebuild.
“They’ll have two mortgages to pay for a year or so, but when rebuilt, they can move back and then they’ll have this home to sell at a profit or rent out as an investment,” she said.
Most burned-out families are renting while they rebuild.
