The question "is this a buyer's market or seller's market?" is the most common question I get from people considering a transaction in Kamloops. It's also the question that gets the most useless answers — usually some variation of "it's uncertain" or "depends on the property."
Markets are measurable. Here's the data and what it means.
The Three Metrics That Define Market Conditions
Absorption Rate
Absorption rate is the number of active listings divided by the number of sales in the past 30 days. It tells you how many months it would take to sell all current inventory at the current pace.
- Below 2 months: strong seller's market. Low inventory, properties sell quickly, sellers have pricing power.
- 2–4 months: balanced market. Reasonable negotiating room on both sides.
- Above 4 months: buyer's market. High inventory relative to demand, buyers have time and negotiating leverage.
As of May 2026 in Kamloops, the single-family detached market is sitting at approximately 3.2–3.8 months of inventory depending on price band. The sub-$700K range is tighter (closer to 2.5 months). The $900K+ range is looser (closer to 5 months).
Translation: the Kamloops market overall is in balanced-to-slightly-buyer territory, with significant variation by price point.
Days on Market
Median days on market (DOM) is a lagging indicator of demand. In a hot market, properties sell in days. In a soft market, they sit for weeks.
Current median DOM for single-family homes in Kamloops: approximately 28–35 days depending on neighborhood. North Kamloops and Sahali are tighter (20–25 days for well-priced properties). Upper Sahali and Aberdeen are slightly longer.
The directional trend matters more than the absolute number. DOM has increased from the 18–22 day median we saw in early 2025, which signals cooling demand relative to supply. This is consistent with the interest rate environment and the broader BC Interior market pattern.
List-to-Sale Ratio
This metric tells you what percentage of the list price properties are actually selling for. Above 100% means properties are selling for more than asking (multiple offers, escalation clauses). Below 97% means properties are selling below list — buyers are successfully negotiating.
Current Kamloops list-to-sale ratio: approximately 97–98% for single-family. This means buyers are negotiating modest discounts on most properties, with the occasional well-priced listing in sought-after neighborhoods still generating competition.
What This Means Depending on Which Side You're On
If You're Buying
You have more time and leverage than you would have had 18 months ago. Properties are sitting longer before selling, which means:
- Inspections are being accepted rather than waived
- Financing conditions are standard rather than exceptional
- First offers are often below asking and sellers are counteroffer-willing rather than walking away
The practical implication: don't anchor to asking price as the number. Look at the list-to-sale ratio for comparable recent sales in the specific neighborhood. The property asking $750K may have two recent comparable sales at $720K and $728K. That's the real range.
The caution: the sub-$700K segment in the most popular neighborhoods (Sahali, Brock, Valleyview) is still competitive for move-in-ready properties. Patience matters, but don't assume every property is negotiable in every condition.
If You're Selling
Pricing is the leverage you control. With 28–35 days median DOM, a well-priced property in good condition is still selling within a month. An overpriced property will sit, accumulate days on market, and eventually sell below what it could have achieved with accurate pricing from day one.
The cost of overpricing in the current market: buyers in a balanced-to-buyer market see DOM as a signal. A property with 45+ days on market gets lower offers than an identical property fresh to the market. The price reduction to restart interest rarely recovers the ground lost.
Accurate pricing from day one is more important in balanced markets than in seller's markets. In a seller's market, overpricing gets corrected by competition. In a balanced market, overpricing gets corrected by patience — buyer patience, not yours.
The Neighborhood-Level Variation That Changes Everything
City-wide averages mask significant neighborhood-level variation. The data I'm tracking:
Tighter than the average: Sahali (central), Brock, Valleyview, South Thompson area. Move-in-ready properties in the $550K–$750K range are seeing sub-30-day sales.
In line with the average: Aberdeen, Westsyde, Dallas. 28–40 days is typical for well-maintained properties at accurate prices.
Softer than the average: Upper Sahali over $900K, rural acreages over $1.2M. Higher-end properties are taking longer, and buyer leverage is real.
The Rate Environment Context
The Bank of Canada rate decisions are the macro driver. The current rate environment has produced a Kamloops market that's more active than the 2023–2024 correction period but not back to the 2021–2022 pace. Qualified buyers exist and are transacting — the extreme rate sensitivity that froze the market in 2023 has moderated as buyers adjusted expectations and some sellers accepted the new price reality.
Variable rate holders watching for further cuts: the market is not pricing in a return to sub-3% rates. Fixed-rate premiums on new purchases are being priced accordingly. If you're a buyer banking on another significant rate drop before purchasing, the risk is that you wait and the inventory tightens as other buyers make the same move simultaneously.
The Data Sources Worth Following
The most reliable public data for Kamloops:
- BC Assessment for assessed values (adjusted annually, not real-time)
- BCREA monthly statistics for Thompson-Okanagan
- KAMREAL (Kamloops and District Real Estate Association) for monthly market reports
For active listings and DOM tracking, Realtor.ca is the most complete source. Filter to Kamloops, sort by date listed, and track the listings that are sitting. That's the clearest real-time signal of demand.