At least 80 foreclosed homes have been shoved onto the slow Kelowna real estate market since January 1, according to local real estate agents, who say the trend reflects a four-year downturn in the once white-hot Okanagan market. There are now more than 170 foreclosed homes listed for sale across the Central Okanagan, 10 times higher than a year ago. 

"I was shocked myself," said Justin Neumann of Century 21Kelowna, who said residential foreclosures are normally quite rare in the Okanagan. But he expects them to increase. "Looking at trends in this market, I think we are cruising to 200 foreclosures being listed this year," he said.

While most agents point to the overbuilt condominium market for the spike in bank-ordered sales, Neumann said about half the foreclosures this year are single-family detached houses. "These are local families," he said, "not speculators."

Most banks are protected from defaults because many homes have mortgage insurance, usually through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Neumann noted."Don't expect to see screaming deals on these foreclosures," Neumann said, "the homes are being listed at market value."

However, today's market value can be 15 per cent to 25 per cent lower than when homes were purchased four years ago, according to figures from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board.