Kelowna Real Estate Market Update April 2026: Sales Up, Prices Down

If you've been watching the Kelowna real estate market over the last few months, you've probably noticed it feels stuck. Buyers are waiting for sellers to move first. Sellers are waiting on buyers. And in the middle of all of that, nothing happens.That traffic jam is real, and it's showing up in the data. But March's numbers suggest it might be starting to loosen. Here's a full breakdown of what happened in March 2026 across single family homes, townhomes, and condos in the Central Okanagan.Sales Are Up Year-Over-YearLet's start with the encouraging part. Residential sales in March 2026 are up 6% compared to March 2025. That makes this the strongest start to a year we've seen in the last two years, even if we're still below 2023 levels.Breaking it down by property type:

• Single family detached homes: 160 sales in March, up 8% year-over-year
• Townhomes: 62 sales, up 1.6% year-over-year
• Condos: 104 sales, up 13% year-over-year

The condo number stands out. That market has felt the most challenged over the last year, with prices softening and inventory piling up. Seeing a 13% jump in sales suggests buyers are responding to the improved affordability in that segment, which is good news if you're a first-time buyer or someone looking to right-size from your current home.The hope is that this momentum carries through April, May, and June, which is typically when sales activity peaks in the Okanagan.Inventory Is Tighter Than Last Year, But We're Still in a Buyer's MarketWe're starting 2026 with slightly less inventory than we had at this point last year. And as spring gets underway, the months of available inventory is starting to come down across all three categories.Here's where things stand as of March:

• Single family homes: 7 months of inventory, down from 9 months in February
• Townhomes: 6.3 months, down from nearly 8 months in February
• Condos: 7.3 months, down from 9.5 months in February

To put those numbers in context: a balanced market sits between 4 and 6 months of supply. Anything under 3 months favours sellers. Anything over 6 months favours buyers. Right now, all three categories are still in buyer's market territory, though the townhome market is inching toward balance.Another way to think about it: at 7 months of inventory in the single family market, roughly 1 in every 7 homes listed is selling in any given 30-day period. That's not a fast market, but it is a market that's moving.Benchmark Prices: Still Sliding Across the BoardMore sales and tighter inventory haven't translated into price gains yet. Prices are still down year-over-year across every category.Single Family Detached HomesThe benchmark price for a single family home in March came in at $1,047,000, down about 1% from February and down 2.3% from this time last year (when it was around $1,072,000). Prices had been gradually recovering through last spring before declining steadily from August through November. There was a brief uptick in December and January, but the last two months have pulled prices back down again. Right now, single family benchmark prices are about 14% below the market peak.TownhomesThe townhome market continues to be volatile month to month. After a sharp drop earlier this year, the benchmark price bounced back 8% from February to March, landing at $725,000. But year-over-year, that price is still down 3.4%. If you've been watching this market for a while, you've seen these kinds of one-month spikes before, so it's worth waiting for a few more months of data before drawing any conclusions about direction. The overall trend over the last 12 months points slightly downward, and prices are about 13.5% off the peak.CondosThe condo market was essentially flat from February to March, with the benchmark price coming in at $471,800, down just 0.1% for the month. Year-over-year though, that price is down nearly 6% from around $500,000 last March. Prices have been declining since about June 2025, with a brief spike in January that looks more like an anomaly than a trend. The last three months, December through March, have been relatively flat. That could be a signal that the condo market is starting to find a floor, but it's early to say. Condo prices are also about 14% below the market peak.Composite Benchmark (All Property Types Combined)The composite benchmark price bottomed out in December at around $773,000 and has edged up slightly since then, though with some month-to-month volatility. It's still about $23,000 lower than it was this time last year.What Are Homes Actually Selling For?The sale-to-list price ratio gives you a practical sense of negotiating room in the current market.

• Single family homes: approximately 97% of last list price
• Townhomes: approximately 98% of last list price
• Condos: just under 97% of last list price

On average, buyers are getting about 3% off the last listed price. That's a meaningful data point if you're heading into a negotiation right now.What This Means If You're Buying or Selling in KelownaIf you're selling, pricing strategy matters more right now than it has in years. You're not competing against where this market was in 2022. You're competing against everything else available today, and there's a lot of it. Homes that are priced right are selling. Homes that aren't are sitting.If you're buying, the data is in your favour. Prices are down meaningfully from the peak across every property type, inventory is elevated, and you have real negotiating room. If you've been waiting for the right time to make a move, the current conditions are worth a serious look.The Bottom LineThe Kelowna market is still in buyer's market territory across every category, but the early signs of spring are showing up in the numbers. Sales are improving, inventory is starting to tighten, and there's a reasonable case that the condo market may be approaching a bottom.Prices haven't turned the corner yet, but the trend is worth watching closely as we move through April and into May.If you want to talk through what any of this means for your specific situation, whether you're thinking about buying, selling, or just trying to understand where things are headed, reach out anytime. I'm happy to walk through the numbers with you.