Kelowna & Central Okanagan in August 2026
August was shaped by wildfire, not by the market. Evacuations across the Interior displaced families and homes were lost, and AIR reports that demand dampened as a direct result. Regional sales fell to 1,141 from 1,496 in July, down 13.4% year over year. Read that decline as a one-month disruption rather than a change in underlying demand — the board attributes it to the fires explicitly.
Supply pulled back at least as hard. New listings fell 17.9% year over year to 2,062, down from 2,569 in July, and active inventory eased 7.7% to 9,378. When both sides of a market withdraw together, the price signal for that month carries very little information.
AIR's August release reports benchmark direction by sub-region but publishes dollar figures only for the exceptions. For Central Okanagan it confirms the July pattern continued — single-family benchmarks rose year over year, while townhouse and condominium benchmarks fell — without giving the August dollar amounts. The prices shown below therefore remain July's, which are the most recent Central Okanagan figures AIR has published. These sales, new listings and active listings figures are region-wide, not Kelowna-only. New to the market? Read our First-Time Buyer Guide before you start house-hunting.
Central Okanagan Benchmark Prices — July 2026
These are July 2026 figures, and they are the most recent Central Okanagan benchmarks AIR has published. Its August release names dollar benchmarks only for the sub-regions that ran against the trend — Shuswap/Revelstoke single-family at $748,400, South Okanagan townhome at $504,700 and South Okanagan condominium at $435,900 — none of which is Central Okanagan. What the August release does confirm is that the direction below held: single-family up year over year, townhouse and condominium down. Benchmark prices reflect a typical property in each category and are less distorted by high-end sales than an average sale price.
| Property Type | Benchmark (HPI) | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Single-Family | $1,072,400 | ▲ 2.3% |
| Townhouse | $709,500 | ▼ 2.4% |
| Apartment / Condo | $490,700 | ▼ 2.0% |
Source: Association of Interior REALTORS® (AIR), press release, Aug 6, 2026 (July 2026 data). Benchmark prices shown are Central Okanagan-specific and remain the latest published for that sub-region; AIR's September 3, 2026 release (August data) gave direction only for Central Okanagan, not dollar amounts. AIR does not publish month-over-month benchmark changes or a property-type breakdown of sales, so those figures are omitted here.
Regional Supply and Demand — AIR Region
Note: the figures below cover the entire Association of Interior REALTORS® region (Central Okanagan + North Okanagan + South Okanagan + Shuswap combined) — they are not Kelowna-specific. Only the benchmark prices in the table above are Central Okanagan/Kelowna-specific.
AIR President Ryan Mayne was direct about the cause: “August was a difficult month for our communities. Evacuations displaced families, homes were lost, and the focus rightfully shifted away from real estate.” He added that “activity slowed as a result, which is completely understandable given what so many people were going through.”
That matters for how the month should be read. Sales fell 13.4% year over year and new listings 17.9%, but a market where both buyers and sellers step back at once for an external reason has not repriced — it has paused. Judging Kelowna's direction needs September and October, once displaced households are back and listings return. Curious how today's qualifying rules affect your purchasing power? See our guide to the 2026 OSFI stress test.
Source: Association of Interior REALTORS® (AIR), media release, September 3, 2026 (August 2026 data).
What's Driving the Kelowna Market
Seasonal pattern: AIR President Ryan Mayne described July's activity as tracking a normal seasonal pattern, with region-wide sales closely mirroring the pace set in July 2025 — a departure from the sharper swings seen in some other BC markets this year.
Price divergence by property type: Central Okanagan single-family benchmark prices continued a modest year-over-year climb (+2.3%) even as townhouse (−2.4%) and condo (−2.0%) benchmarks softened slightly, pointing to firmer demand for detached homes than for attached and multi-family product.
Supply and demand balance: Region-wide, active listings fell 7.8% year-over-year while new listings pulled back even faster, down 12.1% — sellers are listing less than they were a year ago, and detached-home supply in particular is tightening.
Interest rates and qualifying: Mortgage qualifying continues to run through the federal stress test regardless of the rate a lender offers. Use our stress test calculator to check your qualifying rate, or read our 2026 OSFI stress test guide for the full rules.
Key Terms
Kelowna Rents — July 2026
Average asking rents in Kelowna held well below Metro Vancouver levels in July 2026. A one-bedroom unit averaged $1,808/month, while a two-bedroom unit averaged $2,248/month. Weighing whether to keep renting or buy in today's market? Run the numbers with our rent vs. buy calculator.
Source: Rentals.ca, July 2026.
Nearby Markets
Comparing regions? See how Kelowna stacks up against other BC markets we track.