Shadow Listings: The Kelowna Homes Buyers Aren’t Seeing
Most Kelowna real estate market talk focuses on sales.
What sold? For how much? How fast?
But if you’re trying to buy a home in Kelowna, the bigger problem right now may not be sales.
It may be supply — specifically, the kind of supply actually available.
I’m working with three different buyer groups right now. Different budgets. Different neighbourhoods. Different needs.
Yet all three are saying almost the same thing:
There’s lots for sale. None of it is right.
And when you look at the numbers, that makes more sense than you might think.
There Are More Than 2,600 Homes for Sale in the Central Okanagan
On paper, buyers have plenty of choice.
There are more than 2,600 detached homes, townhomes and apartments listed for sale across the Central Okanagan.
That sounds like a buyer’s dream.
But the problem isn’t simply how many homes are available.
It’s what kind of homes make up that inventory.
When you compare what is currently listed with what buyers are actually purchasing, a gap starts to appear.
Kelowna Condo Inventory Is Heavy in Newer Product
Apartments built in the 2020s make up nearly 36% of current condo inventory, but only about 17% of condo sales.
That newer condo inventory is sitting at roughly 18 months of supply.
Compare that with apartments built in the 1990s.
Those are clearing at around 3.9 months of supply.
That is a massive difference.
It tells us buyers aren’t simply asking:
“Is there a condo available?”
They’re asking whether the price, size, layout, location, strata fees and building all make sense together.
And many newer units aren’t passing that test.
Kelowna Townhomes Are Showing the Same Pattern
Townhomes built since 2020 make up almost 38% of the active townhome inventory, yet they represent only about 22% of sales.
That newer product is sitting at roughly 13.5 months of supply.
Townhomes built in the 1970s?
About 3.5 months of supply.
Again, buyers have options.
They just aren’t choosing all those options equally.
Detached Homes Show a Milder Version of the Same Trend
The detached market is more balanced, but the trend is still there.
Homes built in the 2010s and 2020s represent roughly 30% of detached inventory but only 23% of sales.
Meanwhile, homes built from the 1970s through the 1990s represent around 39% of inventory and approximately 50% of sales.
So the shelf is full.
It’s just disproportionately full of the product buyers are choosing least.
That helps explain why buyers can scroll through page after page of Kelowna homes for sale and still feel like there is nothing to buy.
Their price range has options.
Their preferred neighbourhood may have options.
Their preferred home style may have options.
What doesn’t appear often enough is the right combination of price, age, layout, condition and location.
And that leads to a much bigger part of the Kelowna housing market.
What Happens to Kelowna Listings That Don’t Sell?
So far in 2026, only about 44% of the listings that have come off the market actually sold.
- Detached homes: approximately 44.4%
- Townhomes: approximately 44.0%
- Apartments: approximately 43.2%
Detached homes have improved.
The detached success rate bottomed at about 34.1% in 2024. The only worse year in my data going back to 1999 was 2008.
But compare today with 2021, when roughly 78% of listings across all three major housing types sold.
Simply put:
Even in an improving market, more than half of the properties listed for sale are not selling.
Many are cancelled.
Others expire.
Then they disappear from the active MLS search.
But the homes didn’t disappear.
And the owners may not have stopped wanting to move.
What Is a “Shadow Listing” in Kelowna Real Estate?
I call these properties Shadow Listings.
They are homes that were listed for sale, came off the market without selling, and have not since been relisted or sold.
Over the last two years, roughly 3,100 Central Okanagan properties fit that description.
Approximately:
- 1,570 detached homes
- 990 apartments
- 565 townhomes
Compare that with roughly 2,600 properties actively listed today.
There is a huge second layer of housing inventory sitting behind the market buyers see online.
Shadow Listings Can Change How a Kelowna Neighbourhood Looks
Take Black Mountain.
There are roughly 47 detached homes actively listed, representing about 4.9 months of supply.
That looks relatively tight.
But another 76 Black Mountain homes were previously listed, came off the market unsold and remain in the background.
Now look at Rutland South.
The active market sits around 6.9 months of supply, with approximately 85 additional homes sitting in that shadow inventory.
If you’ve been searching one of these Kelowna neighbourhoods and wondering why nothing suitable seems to come up, this may be part of the reason.
The homes aren’t necessarily gone because somebody bought them.
Many simply stopped being advertised.
Could a Buyer Purchase One of These Off-Market Homes?
Sometimes.
Roughly 60% of this shadow inventory came off the market within the last 12 months.
That is recent enough that some of those homeowners may still be considering a move.
But this isn’t a secret list of 3,100 sellers waiting for an offer.
Some sellers cancelled because their plans changed.
Some decided to renovate.
Some rented the property.
Some couldn’t get the price they wanted.
And some simply decided not to move.
No phone call changes that.
The opportunity comes from identifying the smaller group where the seller still has a reason to sell and where the property actually matches what the buyer wants.
New Construction Creates Another Type of Shadow Inventory
This gets particularly interesting for developers, builders and buyers looking at newer Kelowna condos and townhomes.
More than one-third of the condo shadow inventory is product built in 2022 or later.
Much of it is concentrated in a smaller number of newer developments.
In one project I analyzed, 31 units sold with a median size of 957 square feet.
Another 52 units were removed from the market without selling, with a median size of approximately 1,010 square feet.
The smaller units cleared.
Many of the larger units didn’t.
Rather than cutting prices enough to clear that inventory, the developer removed units from the market.
That matters.
Because those properties technically exist as potential supply, but it doesn’t mean they are automatically opportunities.
Sometimes shadow inventory creates leverage.
Sometimes it reveals a pricing standoff between buyers and sellers.
What Shadow Listings Mean for Kelowna Sellers
There is a lesson here for homeowners thinking about selling in Kelowna.
Your competition isn’t only the homes currently listed beside you.
Buyers may also be comparing your property with homes that were previously listed, builders holding unsold inventory, and owners who could be convinced to sell if the right offer appears.
That makes pricing and positioning even more important.
Having “low inventory” in your neighbourhood doesn’t automatically mean buyers will compete for your home.
They still have alternatives.
Some of those alternatives simply aren’t visible on Realtor.ca today.
What This Means for Kelowna Developers and Home Builders
Builders should pay attention to the same numbers.
High overall inventory does not necessarily mean Kelowna has too much of every type of housing.
It may mean we have too much of certain product at certain prices.
If older condos or townhomes are clearing much faster than newer ones, the question shouldn’t simply be:
Do we need more housing?
The better question may be:
What kind of housing are buyers actually absorbing?
For infill developers and multifamily home builders in Kelowna, that distinction matters.
Unit size, monthly carrying costs, strata fees, parking, layout, neighbourhood and final sale price can matter just as much as the number of units being built.
Supply alone doesn’t create demand.
Is There Actually an Opportunity in Kelowna’s Shadow Market?
Yes.
But the realistic opportunity is a fraction of the 3,100 properties.
That’s okay.
A fraction of 3,100 is still a much bigger pool than waiting for the perfect property to appear online.
That’s what I’m doing with buyers right now.
I’m pulling homes that previously came off the market within their criteria, narrowing down the properties that still make sense, and then finding out which owners might still be open to a conversation.
Sometimes there is nothing there.
Sometimes there’s the house.
How Do You Find Homes That Aren’t Currently for Sale in Kelowna?
Start with what you actually want.
Neighbourhood.
Budget.
Home type.
Age.
Layout.
Lot.
Renovation tolerance.
Then look beyond active listings.
If you’ve been searching Kelowna, West Kelowna or the Central Okanagan and keep thinking “there’s lots listed, but nothing I want,” there may be another layer of inventory worth looking at.
Tell me the area, the price range and what you’re actually trying to find.
Reply to this email or text me at 778-946-6454.
I’ll pull the ones that aren’t showing up.
The ones in the shadow.
Kelowna Shadow Listings: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a shadow listing?
A shadow listing is my term for a property that was previously listed for sale, came off the market without selling, and has not since been relisted or sold.
Can you buy a home that is no longer listed for sale?
Potentially. The owner does not have to sell, but some homeowners who recently removed their property from the market may still consider an offer.
Why do so many Kelowna listings expire or get cancelled?
There can be many reasons, including price, changing plans, lack of buyer demand, property condition or a seller deciding to wait for a different market.
Does high housing inventory mean Kelowna is a buyer's market?
Not necessarily. Inventory can vary significantly by neighbourhood, property type, price range, age and condition. A market can have high overall inventory while still having very little supply of the specific product a buyer wants.
Are newer Kelowna condos harder to sell?
The current data shows much higher months of supply among apartments built in the 2020s than among some older buildings. That doesn’t mean every newer condo is difficult to sell. Price, floor plan, carrying costs, location and competing inventory all matter.
Can shadow inventory help Kelowna developers?
Yes. Looking at which previously listed units sold and which were withdrawn can show developers where buyers may be resisting certain unit sizes, layouts or price points. That can be useful when planning future infill and multifamily projects.
Mark Coons, BBA, CE
REALTOR® | eXp Realty Kelowna
Team Lead, Selling Okanagan Group
Relocated to Kelowna in 2018
📞 778-946-6454
📩 [email protected]
