Lower Mainland buyers scooped up huge chunk of homes in Kamloops this year

Kamloops area realtors are seeing an increase of buyers coming from the Lower Mainland, and now they're tracking the data to show it. As much as 37% of single family homes sold in the Kamloops region this year have gone to buyers from Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley. That's...

Lower Mainland buyers scooped up huge chunk of homes in Kamloops this year

Kamloops area realtors are seeing an increase of buyers coming from the Lower Mainland, and now they're tracking the data to show it.

As much as 37% of single family homes sold in the Kamloops region this year have gone to buyers from Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley. That's up from 28% in 2021 and around 16% in the two years before that.

"It's a big jump and it puts upward pressure on prices," Kamloops realtor Aaron Krausert said.

Krausert said anecdotal evidence of Lower Mainland buyers scooping up homes in Kamloops is common, but the data set he has access to proves the theories true: money from the Lower Mainland is making homes more expensive.

The data set is held on a software platform called Buyers Path. With location details down to postal codes, it shows where buyers are coming from to move into the Kamloops area. From there, he can filter through home types like condos, single family homes and duplexes. He can also narrow down the search by price point.

Buyers Path data shows that as the prices go up, especially above the $1 million threshold, so does the proportion of Lower Mainland buyers.

He's observed home buyers moving into the Interior with big down payments, escaping the more expensive Metro Vancouver market.

When comparing to home sales on the whole, just 14 per cent of buyers have come from the Lower Mainland and 65 per cent are from the Kamloops area.

"They want to have what they can't down there," Krausert said. Which is to move out of a condo or a townhouse and upsize into a single family home.

With 37 per cent of single family home buyers coming from the Lower Mainland, the majority of remaining buyers are still from the Kamloops area. Sprinkled in the mix, however, are out-of-province buyers and some from further north or the Okanagan and Kootenay areas.

Buyers Path is just another tool in the collection for Krausert. He emphasized that it shows clients a realtor can do more than take some photos and advertise the home online. He uses Buyers Path and other datasets to show what advertised price will generate the most interest.

An influx of buyers from more expensive markets isn't the only factor involved in rising home prices. With interest rates at record lows through the course of the pandemic and realtors throughout the province claiming low inventory is putting pressure on the market, Kamloops has seen record high prices throughout 2021 and 2022.

Krauser said Buyers Path was developed by the Kamloops association, but it has been purchased by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This would allow for realtors to track who's buying houses from anywhere in the country.

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