This blog is about me, Paige Guernsey, and the things that happen around my job as a Kelowna Real Estate agent with Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty. I talk about listings, sales activity, market conditions, market trends, promotions, green real estate, and sometimes funny things that happen to me during the course of my day. There's links and videos to great information as well as access to my 2 websites, kelownahome.com and greenkelownarealestate.com
Recently a full side by side duplex sold on Highland Avenue in the Glenmore neighborhood of Kelowna. I analysed this property for investors and found there was potential to make a profit. The profit would involve renovating, stratifying, and selling each side separately. Check this video out and see how we did it.
If you’re wondering about investing in Kelowna real estate, call Paige Guernsey, an experienced Kelowna realtor for 24 years on my direct line at 250-862-6464.
Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty’s managing broker, Susan Tough, has written a new blog. She’s a natural at it, and she’s called it “Across the TOUGH Desk“. In it she answers all kinds of questions buyers and sellers have before, during, and after a sales transaction. One of her blogs deals with the simple question “Can I sign for my spouse?”. A tougher question, (no pun intended!) is addressed in another blog post titled “When is it a good time to use a Fee Agreement?” This blog promises to be a winner. Watch for it in the future and learn all kinds of things about Kelowna real estate.
If you have a question about buying or selling a home in Kelowna that you’d like answered, call me, Kelowna real estate agent, Paige Guernsey direct at 250-862-6464.
Happy Fathers Day! A buyer I’m working with gave me his “wish list”. He’s going to buy a house for his daughter (who is going to UBCO here in Kelowna), take his one month vacation to do a big renovation, and at the end of the month schedule the whole house will be like new! It’s his daughters birthday in October and he’s going to have one fantastic piece of real estate to give her! What a thoughtful and wise Dad!
News out this morning from the BC Real Estate Association says that the overall number of residential MLS (R) sales in British Columbia were slightly down in May. Most of us have heard that the number of MLS sales have been down more than “slightly” in Kelowna, while at the same time most of us have heard that Chinese buyers are creating a housing demand unprecedented in the Greater Vancouver area. The huge numbers coming out of Vancouver tend to skew the province’s stats, much like when a home sells on Okanagan Lake here in Kelowna, it causes the “average” house price to bump up. BCREA reported that homes sales in Greater Vancouver jumped 70% between July 2010 and March 2011 but only increased by 12% across the rest of the province. Cameron Muir, chief economist for BCREA says that “average sales price statistics for Vancouver and the province have become increasingly problematic, with large year-over-year average price gains being interpreted by many organizations as a sign of an over-heated market with an inevitable and painful correction on the horizon. However, while the average home price in Vancouver and the province has the appearance of climbing out of sight, evidence on the ground suggests otherwise.” Real estate is local in nature and what’s going on in one market area doesn’t define the entire market. Kelowna has seen its bumps and grinds along the road to real estate prosperity and with our city and economy growing every day coupled with outside fascination for our diverse lifestyle options, you can be sure Kelowna real estate will be at the top of anyone’s list.
Wondering how your property is faring in this market? Call me, Paige Guernsey - a top Kelowna realtor for over 20 years, on my direct line at 250-862-6464.
One of my associates at Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty was able to save her clients $900 in HST when they bought their beach front condo at The Lagoons in Kelowna recently. The beautifully upgraded 2 bedroom 2 bath condo with a south west view of Lake Okanagan sold for $415K INCLUDING the furnishings. The buyers Realtor was prudent and checked with an accountant regarding the HST and the furniture. If the furniture is included in the body of the contract with a dollar amount assigned to it, it is fully taxable. If however, the furniture is listed on a separate document including what it sold for… not taxable. So you might be wondering… What about the fridge, stove, washer, dryer I want to include in my offer to purchase? They are considered the “mechanics” of a home and don’t usually have a specific dollar value attached to them in the contract. Not taxable.
Have a specific real estate question? Call me on my direct line at 250-862-6464.
I’ve been working with a gal who’s buying her first house in Kelowna. In gathering all the necessary information prior to making an offer, we heard a rumor that the house may have been used as a grow up. We did a lot more research to uncover any information that let us be sure about the home’s history. We went to Kelowna city hall to see if they had any info on file, which they didn’t… so far so good! My client called the police department and was told that information was private and couldn’t be shared. I did a google search to see what came up for this particular mls listing. Nothing at all came up for this particular property but I found this very funny video about a grow op that was guarded by bears! Better than an electric fence I suppose!
So at the end of the day we were able to confirm that the house had a clean bill of health and my homebuyer is soon to be a proud homeowner! Nothing like your first house!
CMHC has some great predictions for our housing market through 2011 and 2012. Could CMHC be right?
The report released yesterday, suggests that mls sales are expected to increase later this year due to low interest rates and strong price competition. Also predicted is the demand for new housing to increase due to our strengthening economy. Now if we could just get our actual monthly stats to match up with these predictions! Sales will sadly be down again for May when the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board stats come next week. Bring on the sunshine!
