Thompson Okanagan residents moving away to other provinces

Thompson Okanagan residents are moving to different provinces for nan first clip successful 21 years, according to nan BC Check-Up: Live, an yearly study by nan Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C.

The study focuses connected demographic and affordability trends crossed nan state and recovered that Thompson Okanagan’s organization was still connected nan rise, pegged astatine 657,450 connected July 1, 2023, up by 13,299 from 1 twelvemonth earlier. But changes were afoot.

“It was a spot of a different twelvemonth successful position of wherever we were capable to pull caller residents from,” said Karen Christiansen, FCPA, FCA.

“(Last year) marked nan first clip we mislaid residents to different provinces successful 21 years. At nan aforesaid time, we saw a important bump successful nan number of world arrivals, astir half of whom were betwixt 25 and 39 years old.”

For nan twelvemonth that ended July 1, 2023, nan region welcomed 10,429 (net) caller residents from different countries, up from conscionable complete 6,000 successful 2022.

The Thompson Okanagan continued to pull residents from different parts of nan province, arsenic 6,179 British Columbians relocated to nan region.

Conversely, nan region knowledgeable a nett outflow of group leaving for different provinces, arsenic interprovincial migration decreased organization maturation by 503 people. Natural maturation (births minus mortalities) was besides negative, reducing nan organization by 2,806 residents successful 2023.

The mean property successful nan region was 45.2 successful 2023, up from 44.8 years aged successful 2018. People successful nan first half of their halfway moving years (25- to 39-year-olds) narrowly outpaced seniors (aged 65 and older) arsenic nan fastest-growing property group since 2018. Seniors still made up 24.7 per cent of nan population, compared pinch 22.9 per cent successful 2018, accounting for nan largest stock of nan population.

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The value of nan mean location sold successful nan Okanagan was $758,517 successful June 2024, virtually unchanged from nan mean waste value successful June 2023. Average rental rates accrued successful some Kelowna and Kamloops successful 2023, up 8.6 per cent and 5.2 per cent, respectively, compared pinch 2022.

“The Thompson Okanagan is simply a celebrated destination for group leaving nan Lower Mainland successful hunt for much affordable housing, but we are astatine a disadvantage erstwhile compared to different parts of nan country. That comes crossed beautiful intelligibly erstwhile you look astatine nan migration numbers,” Christiansen said. “Ensuring that nan region’s lodging proviso is capable to support up pinch organization maturation will proceed to beryllium a privilege going forward.”