Posted by
paige on
May 21, 2011 |
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If the April statistics showing buyer profiles are any indication, the Kelowna real estate market should be in recovery mode over the summer.
A full 33% of home buyers were “move up” buyers. This will hopefully give a boost to the $600-$800,000 price range that I was talking about yesterday. Also 33% was the type of buyer who bought in April - 2 parent families with children. That makes sense! Another stat that’s going to breath some life into the Kelowna real estate market is the growing number of those coming from other areas. 49% came from across Canada somewhere and of those 21% were from Alberta. Suggesting responsible and healthy financial situations for our home buyers is the fact that 34% were cash buyers and 54% paid with conventional financing with more than 20% down. Those are sure healthy stats - Bring it on! If your thinking of buying, call me on my direct line at 250-862-6464. Want to check out some great listings? Click here.
Talk to you soon…
Paige
Posted by
paige on
May 20, 2011 |
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Could Kelowna real estate be heading towards a period of instability? According to a report out by Royal Bank of Canada, Canadians are needing a huge portion of their income to fund their mortgages and related expenses. In Vancouver, the Asian market is driving prices up at an alarming rate. Usually our market mimics Vancouver, but not this time. Sales are still down – stats yesterday for one month previous show sales are off 21%. Interest rates will start to creep up and nibble away at buyers bottom line of purchasing power. With sales being down, inventory is rising in Kelowna and West Kelowna. Time will tell what that does to prices. All in all, buyers and sellers are still optimistic about our market. There’s also a healthy number of out of town buyers making their way here to buy. This segment of the market vanished when the economy fell. The price range between $600,000 and $800,000 is taking a beating. More homes in the $500-600K range need to sell before those move up buyers can make their purchase in that $6-8K range. There has been a spike in the luxury home market over $800,000 with many that have been sitting on the fence making the move before rates move up. And last but not least, lot sales and new housing starts are still sluggish with the ongoing issues around the HST. Enjoy the long weekend!
Talk to you soon….
Paige
Posted by
paige on
May 12, 2011 |
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What’s going on? For the last 6 weeks sales have been way off. In fact the last 24 hours goes something like this… 102 new residential mls listings, 50 price reductions, and 25 sales!!! That’s pretty dismal considering it’s almost the middle of May. January 2011 stats showed sales were down over the same time year previous 31%, Feb was down 24%, March was 11%. With this trend we would normally expect April to be on par or at least only slightly down over last year BUT April 2011 sales were down a whopping 34% over last years April. These kind of numbers are most likely indicative of the cold weather continuing into spring and the Federal Election. On the upside, sellers are responding with price reductions on their overpriced property. Buyers, however, are still taking their time. I think most of us believe the mortgage rates are going up steadily now, and with that in mind, buyers and sellers who are serious are going to have to jump off the fence!
I’m your source for Kelowna real estate information. Buying? Selling? Just want to know what’s really happening out there? Call me on my direct line at 250-862-6464.
Talk to you soon…
Paige
Posted by
paige on
May 10, 2011 |
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Last week I had a meeting with Christine Meekma, HSBC Premier Manager (she’s one of the most amazing bankers I’ve had the pleasure of working with by the way). As I walked into the bank for my appointment my nylon gave way and began falling rapidly towards my ankle. How does that happen with brand new nylons?? The dilemma was how to pull it up with nobody noticing. Naturally I could just feel everyone staring, not to mention all the cameras in the bank that I was sure were zooming in on my location! There was only 1 fellow waiting where I was so I took my chances, turned around and gave a quick yank up. Relief. Right then Christine was making her way towards me and as I started to walk across the bank trying to look cool and composed, down went the nylon again. That was of course, when someone commented on my cool shoes! There was nothing I could do at this point, so I squirmed and maneuvered trying to pull it up the whole time. If Christine noticed anything she was very gracious and said nothing. Who knew being a Kelowna realtor could be so stressful!
In the last 24 hours Kelowna real estate has seen 124 listings come onto the market, 48 price reductions and 33 sales. After a pretty bumpy April where we saw sales down an alarming 34% over April 2010, the warmer weather is sure to bring a more active real estate market for both buyers and sellers!
Questions about real estate? Call me on my direct line at 250-862-6464.
Talk to you soon…
Paige
