Hey, it's not boomtime.
But it is incremental steps in the right direction.
Just-released data shows sales were steady and prices jumped for single-family homes and townhouses in April in Kamloops compared to March.
However, as an indication of the market still being in flux, sales and prices slipped for condominiums.
"After a sluggish start to the year, we are seeing buyer optimism returning as the busy spring market has arrived," said Chelsea Mann, president of the 2,600-member Association of Interior Realtors and a realtor with Century 21 Realty Executives in Kamloops.
"Buyers who hit pause on their real estate ventures amid rising interest rates last year have started to resume their searches with different expectations in mind."
To put that into numbers, a total of 159 properties of all kinds (single-family, townhouse and condominium) sold in April, down from 172 in March, but up from 128 in February and only 90 in January.
However, last month's sales tally of 159 is still way off the record-high in the spring of 2021 in when the market was red-hot.
In April, the benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Kamloops was $635,400, which is a bump from $622,400 in March, but a substantial $185,590 less than the record-high of $820,990 set in June 2022.
Last month, the benchmark selling price of a typical townhouse in the city was $542,000, a pop from $527,300 in March, but still off the record-high $569,400 in the spring of 2022.
In April, the benchmark selling price of a typical condo in Kamloops was $373,400, a drop from $383,300 in March, and below the record-setting $403,323 of June 2022.
While prices are softer than last year's peak, they are still nowhere near affordable.
Kamloops continues to be more expensive than most cities in the country.
That means many people, especially potential first-time homebuyers are still priced out of the market.
The reasons for the housing plummet have been well-documented -- inflation, higher mortgage interest rates and shaken consumer confidence.
But after nine months of downward pressure, the Kamloops housing market has been improving, slowly and steadily.
What that means is there's been improvement of late, but sellers will likely get 15% less for their place compared to selling at the pinnacle in June of 2022.
It will also probably take longer to sell your place compared to last year's boom, with buyers looking around more, negotiating on price and demanding more to close the deal.
The current number of homes of all kinds listed for sale in Kamloops is 806, which is up significantly -- 40% -- compared to the same time last year.
However, that's still considered too few.
"The chronic lack of supply has been a common theme for the last few years with new listings simply not hitting the market as actively to meet the demand of growing communities," said Mann.
"The limited housing stock makes it really challenging for motivated buyers to find what they are looking for within their price range."
